Consequences for resting inside of a dungeon

[DarkEternal]

So, the party that I DM for exhausted a lot of their options during a dungeon crawl and they decided to rest inside of a rope trick, which more or less makes them safe for the time being. However, they also let a person run in one of the encounters, which means that he pretty much got to warn everyone. I'm afraid that the consequences for this will be dire, since I don't see any reason why not to make the following encounter which guards a vital point which the adventurers must pass through extremely tough.

Generally, I thought they would get each of these encounters in some sort of order, thus making that final one much easier, but now that everyone on the floor is pretty much warned, the end result will be a CR encounter that's at the very least some odd 6 levels higher than what the party "should " be capable of. Of course, they "might" get around it, but I'm afraid this will end with a wipe, one way or the other, since besides the cannon fodder melee mooks which won't really put a dent in the party, the full encounter will involve at least one demonic like creature, a high level cleric, a high level wizard(thankfully with spells that are more buffs than control ones) and a mid level bard and fighter. Party is level 12(wizard, scout, dervish, weretiger goliath fighter, and a homebrew summoner-elemental user).

Should I go with this as it probably should be and see how the dice gods favor the party or try and do something different, though for the life of me, I don't see how or why I should considering everything?

[Nobot]

I'd give them a fair in-game warning. Example: the mob of evil has assembled in ambush but has been waiting for nearly 8 hours; they send a scout (small, weak and cowardly) to see if the PC's are still around. Make the scout likely to surrender and spill the beans about the ambush.

Otherwise, letting one guy go warn his allies and taking a rest for x hours is kinda dumb, so the consequences are theirs.

[Larsen]

Well, I don't know the details but if they did the rope trivk unnnoticed and rest several hours, it is possible the inhabitants of the dungeon believe them gone. In this case when they appear they might even have a surprise advantage since they are already inside.

It is up to you to decide what the defenders are expecting, but when I read your description, it wasn't obvious that the logical follow-up was for them to wait all at the same place (unless they know the invaders are still there and will continue their attack)

[Uzgul]

How clever are your players about knowing when to retreat or talk instead of attacking?
You may make a barely winable emcounter, but give them a way to get out there alive.

For example the demon could give them the opportunity to do a quest for him to pay for the killed minions.

You also should tell them (ingame) why their opponent is that well prepared. The guy who escaped might be there and say something like "these are the adventures I warned you about, master."

[DarkEternal]

I'd give them a fair in-game warning. Example: the mob of evil has assembled in ambush but has been waiting for nearly 8 hours; they send a scout (small, weak and cowardly) to see if the PC's are still around. Make the scout likely to surrender and spill the beans about the ambush.

Otherwise, letting one guy go warn his allies and taking a rest for x hours is kinda dumb, so the consequences are theirs.


Well, I don't know the details but if they did the rope trivk unnnoticed and rest several hours, it is possible the inhabitants of the dungeon believe them gone. In this case when they appear they might even have a surprise advantage since they are already inside.

It is up to you to decide what the defenders are expecting, but when I read your description, it wasn't obvious that the logical follow-up was for them to wait all at the same place (unless they know the invaders are still there and will continue their attack)

Problem with that is that there are high level spellcasters here with scrying at the ready, so they would probably know and be at high alert. Not saying they would be waiting for them in ready position from the get go, but chances are that they'll know these adventurers, that laid waste to upper levels of the dungeon are still around.

[Nobot]

Problem with that is that there are high level spellcasters here with scrying at the ready, so they would probably know and be at high alert. Not saying they would be waiting for them in ready position from the get go, but chances are that they'll know these adventurers, that laid waste to upper levels of the dungeon are still around.

True! Well, there is a scout in your players' party, right? If he does actually scout ahead, you could give him a clue about the ambush. Or you could let one of the casters figure out that 'they're being watched'. (We always allowed wizards to do a scrying check when they were being scried (scryed?) to see if they could detect it; don't remember if that's in RAW or if it's a house rule.)

Still, I wouldn't find it unfair if you just ran with it and let them face the ambush without giving any overtly obvious tips.

[Andezzar]

Problem with that is that there are high level spellcasters here with scrying at the ready, so they would probably know and be at high alert. Not saying they would be waiting for them in ready position from the get go, but chances are that they'll know these adventurers, that laid waste to upper levels of the dungeon are still around.If there are spellcasters (able to cast 3rd level wizard spells) around, the PCs are lucky if they get prepared defenders the next day. See Invisibility and Dispel Magic would make a much ruder awakening.