How to kill an optimized peasant village in the fastest way possible?

[Xoroth]

So I've heard stories of the peasant hand book and the village of op peasants whose acronym I can't recall. These guys were made to take on all manner of beasts so I want to know, if you were some evil guy or monster how would you eradicate said village in the most expedient manner possible? Assume that this is the only thing you'll be doing today and nothing else will bother you until tomorrow.

[Annos]

Burn the place to the ground, Peasant means wood houses, fire cone or Area spells and or breath weapons would be good at this, though a torch or flaming arrow will bring a simular effect.

[Worira]

Probably chain-controlling shadows, I guess. I don't actually know the stats of the place, but shadows are always a decent start.

[bobthe6th]

storm of vengeance until, multiple castings to cover the whole village.

[Venusaur]

Cloudkill?

[Kuulvheysoon]

Probably chain-controlling shadows, I guess. I don't actually know the stats of the place, but shadows are always a decent start.

This. Early entry into Master of Shrouds. No peasant village, no matter how optimized, can stand up to a Shadow assault.

Watch as someone proves me wrong

[Invader]

Cloudkill?

This is how I'd do it.

[Little Brother]

I dunno, I always liked Apocalypse from the Sky...

Or, you could be a jerk and starve them to death. Gank the few that have any ability to create food, Fimbulwinter kills their crops, and you cut off trade. Set up animal attacks and just harass them until they resort to cannibalism.

Or, my favorite way, pull that Ice Forge guy in Frostburn: Slowly replace the optimized commoners with optimized commoners under your control.

[Invader]

I dunno, I always liked Apocalypse from the Sky...

Or, you could be a jerk and starve them to death. Gank the few that have any ability to create food, Fimbulwinter kills their crops, and you cut off trade. Set up animal attacks and just harass them until they resort to cannibalism.

Or, my favorite way, pull that Ice Forge guy in Frostburn: Slowly replace the optimized commoners with optimized commoners under your control.

I'd say starving them to death, Fimbulwinter, disrupting trade, and animal attacks would hardly be the "Fastest way possible" although definitely good ways in and of themselves.

[Madara]

Chain Shadows has been said

Otherwise, just by controlling skeletons. If you're a 8th level DN, you can have like 100ish HD of undead when optimized. With corpsecrafter, each 1HD undead is better than their equal HD commoner. So you just have them destroy the village.

Cloudkill is too slow and can be avoided.

[Little Brother]

I'd say starving them to death, Fimbulwinter, disrupting trade, and animal attacks would hardly be the "Fastest way possible" although definitely good ways in and of themselves.Heh, missed that. Would be a fun way, though.

Though are we talking only level 1 commoners, or can any get higher?

Because if they can get higher, they can get 9th level spells, and so you'd want to act carefully. So the simulacrum replacement would probably be the safest bet. Otherwise, I'll stick with Apocalypse from the Sky. One full-round action with Uncanny Forethought, so you can wipe the Optothorpe out in 15.1 minutes.

[Madara]

Chain Shadows has been said

Otherwise, just by controlling skeletons. If you're a 8th level DN, you can have like 100ish HD of undead when optimized. With corpsecrafter, each 1HD undead is better than their equal HD commoner. So you just have them destroy the village.

Cloudkill is too slow and can be avoided.

[Thiyr]

Cast deathward, pretend to be friendly, drop a spellclock set to cast locate city with coldcasting, flash frost, and fell drain applied, set to cast every five seconds. That'll go pretty fast, methinks, and will have a WONDERFUL effect on the local ecology!

[Invader]

I guess it depends on how large the village is as well. If it's just 50 or so people and it'd not terribly spread out, really just a few rounds and a few fireballs would more than handle everything.

[Curmudgeon]

Burn the place to the ground, Peasant means wood houses, fire cone or Area spells and or breath weapons would be good at this, though a torch or flaming arrow will bring a simular effect.
Wood houses? You're thinking well-off peasants then. Mud, stone, and sod (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sod_house) dwellings are more common. Adobe is just a matrix of mud with some reinforcing material (straw, hair) to limit cracking, dried in the sun. With most adobe construction you've got a decent chance to burn off the roofs but leave the structures intact. The roofs are temporary because their materials (leaves/fronds/thatch) dry out and stop shedding water so need periodic replacement anyway. In grasslands sod construction is the most common; that's just turf held together with the grass that grows naturally. You would burn off the exposed stalks but not much of the roots, and you wouldn't get to any wood holding up the roof sod. Rammed earth and cob dwellings are similar to adobe. Your fire attacks would probably be successful against wattle-and-daub construction, which is mud layered over a woven twig frame.

These are just the most common ways of building with earth. See the picture for a visual overview.
http://www.archinomy.com/sites/default/files/case-studies/2009/earth-techniques-mud-architecture.jpg
In areas with very stony soil you'll find the farmers building with the stone they need to pull out of the earth before it's suitable for planting. Again, as with adobe construction, you'll just burn off the roofs and leave the structures intact.
http://listverse.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/24200746122613jp-stone-hut.jpg.jpeg

[Invader]

Wood houses? You're thinking well-off peasants then. Mud, stone, and sod (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sod_house) dwellings are more common. Adobe is just a matrix of mud with some reinforcing material (straw, hair) to limit cracking, dried in the sun. With most adobe construction you've got a decent chance to burn off the roofs but leave the structures intact. The roofs are temporary because their materials (leaves/fronds/thatch) dry out and stop shedding water so need periodic replacement anyway. In grasslands sod construction is the most common; that's just turf held together with the grass that grows naturally. You would burn off the exposed stalks but not much of the roots, and you wouldn't get to any wood holding up the roof sod. Rammed earth and cob dwellings are similar to adobe. Your fire attacks would probably be successful against wattle-and-daub construction, which is mud layered over a woven twig frame.

These are just the most common ways of building with earth. See the picture for a visual overview.
http://www.archinomy.com/sites/default/files/case-studies/2009/earth-techniques-mud-architecture.jpg
In areas with very stony soil you'll find the farmers building with the stone they need to pull out of the earth before it's suitable for planting. Again, as with adobe construction, you'll just burn off the roofs and leave the structures intact.
http://listverse.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/24200746122613jp-stone-hut.jpg.jpeg

Not to mention burning their houses down doesn't necessarily constitute "killing" the villagers.

[Annos]

Wood houses? You're thinking well-off peasants then. Mud, stone, and sod (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sod_house) dwellings are more common. Adobe is just a matrix of mud with some reinforcing material (straw, hair) to limit cracking, dried in the sun. With most adobe construction you've got a decent chance to burn off the roofs but leave the structures intact. The roofs are temporary because their materials (leaves/fronds/thatch) dry out and stop shedding water so need periodic replacement anyway. In grasslands sod construction is the most common; that's just turf held together with the grass that grows naturally. You would burn off the exposed stalks but not much of the roots, and you wouldn't get to any wood holding up the roof sod. Rammed earth and cob dwellings are similar to adobe. Your fire attacks would probably be successful against wattle-and-daub construction, which is mud layered over a woven twig frame.

These are just the most common ways of building with earth. See the picture for a visual overview.
http://www.archinomy.com/sites/default/files/case-studies/2009/earth-techniques-mud-architecture.jpg
In areas with very stony soil you'll find the farmers building with the stone they need to pull out of the earth before it's suitable for planting. Again, as with adobe construction, you'll just burn off the roofs and leave the structures intact.
http://listverse.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/24200746122613jp-stone-hut.jpg.jpeg

you say this NOW! how about like 2 hours ago when i posted it. Besides a rouge dragonborn can freeze, disintegrate(acid breath) or elctricly shock them too

[Airanath]

Wightocalypse due to Locate City Bomb or a bored artificer shooting metamagicked wands with enervating magic missiles.
Living in a world where your peasnts border TO you need to use borderline if not outright TO.

[crazyhedgewizrd]

Just poison the well, not every one will have a good fort save.

[Jarian]

Lots of water into a Tsunami or two should eradicate a village, depending on caster level and size of village.

Of course, the classic Locate City Bomb would work too, with arguably less effort.

[Invader]

Just poison the well, not every one will have a good fort save.

Also doesn't seem like the fastest way to kill everyone and even stupid villagers would figure out the well water was killing people before everyone died. :smallbiggrin:

[gooddragon1]

Locate City Bomb

This one. Very reliable.

[crazyhedgewizrd]

Also doesn't seem like the fastest way to kill everyone and even stupid villagers would figure out the well water was killing people before everyone died. :smallbiggrin:

The idea is not to kill everyone but make them move away.

[Invader]

The idea is not to kill everyone but make them move away.

I was confused by the title of the thread being "How to kill an optimized village in the fastest way possible".

I can totally see how it might really mean "can you make the villagers move away slowly" :smalltongue:

[crazyhedgewizrd]

I was confused by the title of the thread being "How to kill an optimized village in the fastest way possible".

I can totally see how it might really mean "can you make the villagers move away slowly" :smalltongue:

if you want it faster, just have a bard do a diplomancy check and talk the people into moving. This can be faster than even some of the spells that were said.

[kardar233]

Burn the place to the ground, Peasant means wood houses, fire cone or Area spells and or breath weapons would be good at this, though a torch or flaming arrow will bring a simular effect.

You mean you've got to burninate all the people in their thatched-roof cottages?

[gooddragon1]

Black sand then and the threat of a windstorm. If they know what it is they aren't going to want to stick around.

[legomaster00156]

Fire is always the most amusing way. Lots and lots of fire.

[GolemsVoice]

Better do it at night, when everyone is sleeping.

[TuggyNE]

Of course, the classic Locate City Bomb would work too, with arguably less effort.

By which I assume you mean the Fell Draining variant, as opposed to the more questionable Explosive Spell?

[Jarian]

By which I assume you mean the Fell Draining variant, as opposed to the more questionable Explosive Spell?

Why choose? Cast both versions, assuming this is at a level where you can wrangle the feat cost. :smalltongue:

[Annos]

Fire is always the most amusing way. Lots and lots of fire.

See someone agrees with me:smallamused:

[demigodus]

Control Winds. Lets you wipe them out at lvl 9 using 1 standard action, with no feat costs.

Going with this, since I figure doing it at a lower level matters (considering you are up against a group of lvl 1 commoners...)

[Vizzerdrix]

Hehee! I love them crazy TO commoners (Even got a thumbs up on the halfling sniper commoner idea I posted).


Your main problem is they'll see you coming if you try to march anything into their town. So no poisoning the well, no fireballing them to death and even minion swarms won't fare too well against the towns army of pets, poisoners and alchemists.

Someone should link The Commoner's Handbook (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=232822) for reference. :smallbiggrin:

[Malroth]

If by quickest possible you mean lowest level possible then metamagic school focus fell drain sonic snap to create wights out of key villagers is probably your best bet,

[Madara]

Hehee! I love them crazy TO commoners (Even got a thumbs up on the halfling sniper commoner idea I posted).


Your main problem is they'll see you coming if you try to march anything into their town. So no poisoning the well, no fireballing them to death and even minion swarms won't fare too well against the towns army of pets, poisoners and alchemists.

Someone should link The Commoner's Handbook (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=232822) for reference. :smallbiggrin:

Yeah...they need magic items in order to even hit shadows. Chain Shadows would be the way to go. Or Wrightopocalypse city bomb.