Necropolis Encounter - Desert Ambush

[Essence_of_War]

I'm currently DM'ing Necropolis by Gygax.

There is a desert encounter that ends up being an ambush or a partial ambush depending on how observant the most observant PCs are.

The ambush party is:
1 Rogue 13
1 Cleric 13
1 Sorcerer 12
10 1st level warriors
8 3rd level warriors
4 2nd level rogues

Depending on how their exploration of a town goes possibly an additional:
1 Exp 7
1 warrior 4/rogue 4
1 warrior 6/rogue 4

The heroes are all ECL 9:
Druid 9 (no natural spell)
Wizard 9
Fighter 1/Wilder 8
Fighter 6/Homebrew Dragon Samurai 3
Rogue4/Swash3/Assassin2
Bard7/Homebrew'd Arcane Archer 2

The big question, is this very likely to end in a TPK if the enemies are played remotely intelligently? My initial thought is "almost certainly". If I'm right, is there a simple/obvious way to reign in this encounter to avoid the TPK?

[Morrolan]

Have the players made friends in their travels? Have unexpected reinforcements show up. Or make it a threewayfight with a local monster legend. Or make the surroundings dangerous for large groups (weak floor or a bottleneck area)
In other words, complicate things for the ambush party.

[Bhaakon]

It's an encounter in a desert, right? Before the ambush, tell the PCs that there's a sandstorm bearing down on them. It will distract them enough that the ambush is really surprising, and provide an easy way to escape the encounter if/when the PCs get in too much trouble.

[myancey]

This encounter has the definite potential for TPK, but I think it sounds pretty awesome.

First off, I agree with the sandstorm idea--good for ambush and even better for a beaten party to retreat in. If combat is getting too tough, you can even make the storm worsen and give everyone a concealment bonus.

The only scary parts of the encounter include the sorcerer and cleric. At that level, casters can do some wicked stuff. If the party takes them out quickly, this encounter will be easy. If these two casters persist for a while, I'd say the encounter is in favor of the ambushers.

Also, the potential extras will probably be close to on par with the party..that'd definitely change the tide of battle.

My recommendations:

1) Include terrain obstacles--a sand pit or two, some large/huge boulders. This might allow the party to create choke points.
2) Managing all those little guys will be difficult. If it is taking too long, you should group them into mobs (DMG II, I believe, has the rules on that). It'll also actually allow them to hit the party on something other than a nat 20.
3) If you want the bad guys to win--have the cleric and sorcerer initially in hiding. Then in round 2 or three, when the party is getting the hang of their actions, blast them with these two guys.
4) If you want the party to win, emphasize the cleric and sorc. early on so the party can target and wipe these guys out.

[Essence_of_War]

Luckily this a little easier since I realized the sorcerer was an evil guy hanging out in town who already tried to kill them and they stopped successfully.

I'm toning down the cleric by not having him NOT open with the Blasphemy that he has prepared. Instead, he is going to use the surprise round and maybe even the first round of combat buffing with Righteous Might and Divine Power before wading into melee. He has a Destruction prepared, and I may have him not use that also depending on how the combat is looking.

The party has a scroll of resurrection, so they can raise at least 1 person who dies UNLESS they get killed by a Destruction.

[Fable Wright]

Blasphemy should be fine at this level. They aren't weak enough to be paralyzed by it, only weakened. And stunned for a round. However, this was clearly not a battle meant to be won. Before the encounter, give the party some equipment to help them escape or take down some of the mooks without expending resources, and things to help them survive the cleric/sorcerer. For example, a holocaust cloak that becomes a one-time fire shield when when struck, a scroll of dimension door if they need to flee, a brooch that shatters whenever someone within 30ft becomes stunned/dazed, creating a Haste effect on the party. Partially charged rings that function similar to mini Rods of Absorption- they only absorb 10~15 spell levels, and they don't let the user use the spell levels back, but enough to prevent some of the nasty spells that the sorcerer/cleric might use. Finally an armor/cloak that gives fortification to the wearer. Then give each of the party members the items that another person would be better suited to have- give the rogue or bard the holocaust cloak, the wizard the item of fortification, and so on. When battle starts, the magic items will activate. Rather than tailoring them to each person in the battle (which would make this too easy), the switch will lead to much panic while the party tries to get the person with the right item where they need to be. However, they will have all the tools they need to beat the encounter- and a panic button to get them out of there if they need it.