drow ambush

[leegi0n]

Party is going to be traveling on a major trade route through a mountain pass at night.

I have eluded at drow, drow, drow for a couple months now and would like to ambush them on the road, as they are traveling with a little gnome(NPC - caster/sage/hexer ) that the drow would LOVE to get their hands on.

So, my question is this:

party is lvl 8/9
8 people in party

Should I go with the standard rogues n' archers setup with the drow or can you think of something a bit more interesting? Like maybe adding a drow marshal in there with some fighter troop.

The drow are most interested in the gnome, but inevitably (as they are all named 'XP'), they will fight the party.

Any flavor ideas?

The gnome is going to be killed. I do know this already. The majority of the party is very fond of the little fart, so it will be a big deal.

[Elfin]

Just to warn you – it is not a good idea to be "certain" of anything before it happens in-game. Don't try to fudge or play unfairly to make sure that gnome dies; if you tailor the drow NPCs and strategies so that they're likely to kill the gnome, that's one thing, but be aware that there's always a chance things will not go according to plan.

As for the drow themselves, it's hard to give advice without knowing the party's makeup. Could you provide details?

[leegi0n]

I'm aware of the randomness, for sure. After all these years behind the screen I know better than that. Things RARELY happen as 'planned' in game. I should have said, it is my INTENTION to kill off the NPC gnome. :smalltongue:

As for the party:

2 human ranger/scouts - (one is a TWF, one is an archer build)
1 half-orc barbarian
1 human psionic wilder
1 human bard
1 gnome cleric
1 human fighter - TWF setup
1 human arcane caster

[Diarmuid]

If the drow know the gnome is a caster, and especially if they have intel on the group of people he's travelling with...it would seem terribly short-sighted to simply send rogue/archer/fighter types without any kind of caster support.

First thing you should decide is how hard this is supposed to be, then figure out the EL (factoring in favorable terrain/traps/ambushes), then build the drow accordingly to the desired Encounter Level.

With a party of 8, have you completely thrown the CR/EL idea out the window, or are simply counting the party a bit higher than they are for purposes of CR +/- to the party ECL?

[leegi0n]

If the drow know the gnome is a caster, and especially if they have intel on the group of people he's travelling with...it would seem terribly short-sighted to simply send rogue/archer/fighter types without any kind of caster support.

First thing you should decide is how hard this is supposed to be, then figure out the EL (factoring in favorable terrain/traps/ambushes), then build the drow accordingly to the desired Encounter Level.

With a party of 8, have you completely thrown the CR/EL idea out the window, or are simply counting the party a bit higher than they are for purposes of CR +/- to the party ECL?


I'm counting them as higher for purposes of CR. 10-12 is kind of the target number as they have effectively (albeit stressfully) survived the equivalent.
It's not going to be a 'boss fight' or anything like that...more of a turning point in the story.

I was considering putting a drow cleric or warlock type in with the ambush party. Traps will be used too.

[Jarveiyan]

I would suggest -

1 drow cleric
1 drow bard
2 drow arcanists(wizards more likely)
5 drow rogues(assassins might also be apprpriate)
5 drow martial ccharacters(fighters/rangers/monks/or somesuch)

add some traps and favorable terrain to the mix
Also what are we looking at book wise for what can be used?

[leegi0n]

I would suggest -

1 drow cleric
1 drow bard
2 drow arcanists(wizards more likely)
5 drow rogues(assassins might also be apprpriate)
5 drow martial ccharacters(fighters/rangers/monks/or somesuch)

add some traps and favorable terrain to the mix
Also what are we looking at book wise for what can be used?



All 3x books are on the table. It's set in a homebrew world with homebrew PrC's on the characters, tailored to their background/class, etc. I've pulled a lot of my drow ideas thus far from "drow of the underdark" It's all game, though.

Also, regarding your above list, do you think it would be safe to say that each of the respective drow participants are at lvl 8?

[SamBurke]

I'd shoot at a CR 11 challenge. To get rid of the gnome, have the drow dedicate one caster to him who knows what the gnome'll do. Think Zz'dtri.

[leegi0n]

CR11, each? Do you not see excessive gut-stomping with that? Honestly, in my 'perfect world' as a DM, I want the characters to feel like they are out-gunned and the gnome becomes the unsaveable casualty. Unless they get uber-heroic (but they are mostly Neutral), I should be able to accomplish what I need for story's sake.

Is CR11 for each drow too much though? My mind says no, but my gut says yes.

[Elboxo]

1 drow cleric
1 drow bard
2 drow arcanists(wizards more likely)
5 drow rogues(assassins might also be apprpriate)
5 drow martial ccharacters(fighters/rangers/monks/or somesuch)

Sounds like a freakin' mini-army, I'd drop the bard, and have one of the arcanists a wizard, the other a blaster.

The position of the assassins could maul a few members of the party, should they get distracted with the 9 people in front of them, and 5x sneak attack at ECL 8 is gonna hurt, I guess a lot of this depends on the PC wizard/psion's strategies combat of about this size, whether they BC or singe-target it up, my guess is one of them will focus on the arcanist/cleric then go BC.

That said, if the enemy Arcanist casts something like Slow on the party, it's pretty much over, no full attacks, out of range to attack anything, can't move and attack, with archers just plowing through them from afar

[leegi0n]

1 drow cleric
1 drow bard
2 drow arcanists(wizards more likely)
5 drow rogues(assassins might also be apprpriate)
5 drow martial ccharacters(fighters/rangers/monks/or somesuch)

Sounds like a freakin' mini-army, I'd drop the bard, and have one of the arcanists a wizard, the other a blaster.

The position of the assassins could maul a few members of the party, should they get distracted with the 9 people in front of them, and 5x sneak attack at ECL 8 is gonna hurt, I guess a lot of this depends on the PC wizard/psion's strategies combat of about this size, whether they BC or singe-target it up, my guess is one of them will focus on the arcanist/cleric then go BC.

That said, if the enemy Arcanist casts something like Slow on the party, it's pretty much over, no full attacks, out of range to attack anything, can't move and attack, with archers just plowing through them from afar

Yeah....I'm not ready to bring the full extent of the proverbial 'pain' just yet. I have bigger, badder meanies I want them to fight eventually. So, I have reached a crossroads, gentlemen...

[Diarmuid]

CR11, each? Do you not see excessive gut-stomping with that? Honestly, in my 'perfect world' as a DM, I want the characters to feel like they are out-gunned and the gnome becomes the unsaveable casualty. Unless they get uber-heroic (but they are mostly Neutral), I should be able to accomplish what I need for story's sake.

Is CR11 for each drow too much though? My mind says no, but my gut says yes.

I think he meant a Challenge Rating 11 Encounter, where the sum of all the parts is 11.

[Jarveiyan]

Drow don't play fair, if they have info on the party they will "stack the deck"(especially if above ground). And that was just suggestions - usually theres at least 1 drow cleric of a neutral or evil deity, 2 or more arcanists(wizards or sorcerers on average, you could plug in warmages or aother main arcanists here), some rogue(scout/assassin or ninja types), and plenty to overkill on the martial support(whether its ranged or melee, or even "pitch hitter"). As for levels I thought I'd leave that up to the GM. As a suggestion any and all of these could be "modified" or ignored. And also you usually equip these encounters as NPC gear unless you don't want to.

[leegi0n]

I think he meant a Challenge Rating 11 Encounter, where the sum of all the parts is 11.

yeah, I figured. ...after I posted what I did.



Drow don't play fair, if they have info on the party they will "stack the deck"(especially if above ground). And that was just suggestions - usually theres at least 1 drow cleric of a neutral or evil deity, 2 or more arcanists(wizards or sorcerers on average, you could plug in warmages or aother main arcanists here), some rogue(scout/assassin or ninja types), and plenty to overkill on the martial support(whether its ranged or melee, or even "pitch hitter"). As for levels I thought I'd leave that up to the GM. As a suggestion any and all of these could be "modified" or ignored. And also you usually equip these encounters as NPC gear unless you don't want to.

right. they don't play fair, ever. Especially on the surface, like you said.

I think I'm gonna go with a cleric, a warlock thrall, a couple archers, a scout sniper/assassin, and a rogue/swash TWF for the ringleader....in the jarlaxle propensity.

[Reprimand]

Make at least one arcane caster to keep the encounter more versatile.

[Runestar]

What about using draegloths (drow of underdark) as tanks? They have 6 outsider HD and rather generous physical stats, at cr5. Throw on the lolth-touched template (mm4) to make them even more physically threatening, and you have a decent cr6 bruiser.

If you think it may still be too weak, add 2 lvs of barb for a fairly potent cr8 npc.

For fighters, you can also add in duskblades. They make pretty good 1-shot glass cannons (move, quickened true-strike--> arcane channel+shocking grasp+power attack).

For the final party composition,

2 lolth-touched draegloth (cr6) or 1 lolth-touched draegloth barb2 (cr8)
2 drow duskblades (cr6)
1 drow arcane spellcaster (either wizard7 or beguiler8), support with buff spells like haste and control the battlefield with spells like glitterdust
1 drow arcane blaster (probably warmage8, but can also go evoker8)

Final EL = 12. :smallsmile:

[W3bDragon]

I would also suggest that you plan out an organized attack for them ahead of time, to accentuate their intelligent and ruthless nature. Do a plan A and plan B.

Assuming 4 archers (level 5), 1 cleric (level 6), 1 assassin (level 5), 1 melee leader of some sort (level 7).

Plan A:

* Half the Archers position themselves in an unreachable position and ready actions to fire at casters when they start casting.
* The other half of the archers attack the party from both sides of the pass, forcing the melee to spread out north and south to chase after them. Once they have the attention of the melee, they run.
* The assassin lies in wait, hiding near the party and starts studying the gnome for a death attack. Hopefully by then most of the party's melee have run off, leaving the casters in the middle.
* The ring leader springs into action once the melee spread, running amok in the midst of the casters, who still have archers trained on them.
* The cleric will remain with the first archers, healing them while remaining out of sight as needed.

Plan B:

* If the archers that are readying actions aren't having an effect, they'll instead all focus on the gnome to bring him down.
* If the archers that escaped run into trouble, they'll use their scrolls of obscuring mist (provided by the cleric) to make their escape.
* If the assassin's death attack fails, or if he doesn't have enough time to do a full study of the target, he'll join the archers in attacking the gnome to bring him down, then levitate away.
* The ring leader carries a scroll of dimension door for emergencies, if he's in trouble, he'll use it.
* The cleric will peak out and throw a silence on the casters to assist the assassin and the leader.

The idea is to use ruthless tactics, but keep the levels of the opponents low. That way, it won't be too challenging for the PCs, but it'll show that they're dealing with a whole new level of tactical opponents. It would also be fun to throw in the signature drow sleep poison bolts. Also, if you don't use an arcanist now, that'll make the next encounter more interesting.

[leegi0n]

I would also suggest that you plan out an organized attack for them ahead of time, to accentuate their intelligent and ruthless nature. Do a plan A and plan B.

Assuming 4 archers (level 5), 1 cleric (level 6), 1 assassin (level 5), 1 melee leader of some sort (level 7).

Plan A:

* Half the Archers position themselves in an unreachable position and ready actions to fire at casters when they start casting.
* The other half of the archers attack the party from both sides of the pass, forcing the melee to spread out north and south to chase after them. Once they have the attention of the melee, they run.
* The assassin lies in wait, hiding near the party and starts studying the gnome for a death attack. Hopefully by then most of the party's melee have run off, leaving the casters in the middle.
* The ring leader springs into action once the melee spread, running amok in the midst of the casters, who still have archers trained on them.
* The cleric will remain with the first archers, healing them while remaining out of sight as needed.

Plan B:

* If the archers that are readying actions aren't having an effect, they'll instead all focus on the gnome to bring him down.
* If the archers that escaped run into trouble, they'll use their scrolls of obscuring mist (provided by the cleric) to make their escape.
* If the assassin's death attack fails, or if he doesn't have enough time to do a full study of the target, he'll join the archers in attacking the gnome to bring him down, then levitate away.
* The ring leader carries a scroll of dimension door for emergencies, if he's in trouble, he'll use it.
* The cleric will peak out and throw a silence on the casters to assist the assassin and the leader.

The idea is to use ruthless tactics, but keep the levels of the opponents low. That way, it won't be too challenging for the PCs, but it'll show that they're dealing with a whole new level of tactical opponents. It would also be fun to throw in the signature drow sleep poison bolts. Also, if you don't use an arcanist now, that'll make the next encounter more interesting.


Right. I want this to be all about nasty, tricksy, tactics. This will be the first time the PCs will deal with it on this level. I have already got the sleep bolts at the ready too. I'm debating whether or not to include an arcanist at this point. I have plenty of them prepared for down the road. Since these PCs are approaching the double digit levels, I want it to start getting harder....like it was at level 1. Drow make the perfect antagonists.

[Gwendol]

If the drow are intent on killing the gnome that is what they should be doing. The rest of them will be incapacitating the rest of the team (sleep poison, battlefield control spells, traps, etc). I suggest they don't bother with trying to kill or even engage them all.

[leegi0n]

If the drow are intent on killing the gnome that is what they should be doing. The rest of them will be incapacitating the rest of the team (sleep poison, battlefield control spells, traps, etc). I suggest they don't bother with trying to kill or even engage them all.

Correct. They don't have time or interest in the party and honestly, as drow, they don't even care to waste their energy on them. So....subdue, disable, proceed. That's the route I'm shooting for.

However, I know the little squishies are gonna put up a good fight.