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View Full Version : DM Help Reverse Dungeon Delve - ideas needed



BowStreetRunner
2015-11-02, 10:11 AM
I am looking to create a Reverse Dungeon Delve - 20 encounters, each a different level starting at 1st. The PCs are all Monster characters - goblins, orcs, and things like that. The encounters are each designed to simulate a great fantasy battle in which the monsters got their butts kicked (like the Battle of Five Armies or the Battle of Helm's Deep). My problem is that I am having trouble thinking of iconic battles that aren't in one of the Tolkien books. I would prefer to keep in within the realm of fantasy rather than rework a science fiction battle in a fantasy setting. The more well known the better. The monsters in the actual battles don't necessarily need to have been goblins and orcs.

So far I have this list with which to work:

The escape of Thorin & Company from the caves of the Great Goblin.
The Battle of Five Armies.
The Battle of the Hornburg (Helm's Deep).
The Destruction of Isengard.
The Battle of the Pelennor Fields (Minas Tirith in Gondor).
The Battle of the Morannon/the Black Gate.
The Fight in the Chamber of Mazarbul (The Bridge at Khazad-dûm).
The Attack on Amon Hen (Fall of Boromir).
The Fight in the Tower of Cirith Ungol (over the mithril shirt).
The First Battle of Beruna (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe).
The Second Battle of Beruna (Prince Caspian).
The Battle of Castle Black.
The Siege of Meereen.
The Battle of Yunkai.

Flickerdart
2015-11-02, 10:22 AM
You can delve into some of the Elder Scrolls lore. The human empire has pounded their various orc, elf, other elf, viking, cat-people, and lizard-people neighbours into the dirt a few times.

atemu1234
2015-11-02, 10:24 AM
I'm a fan of Horatius at the Bridge, but with monsters. Over a canyon.

BowStreetRunner
2015-11-02, 11:16 PM
Elder Scrolls...I never thought of video games for a source of material. But are there any specific iconic battles that are going to be well known? I'm not familiar with all of the titles and how they were handled, but the parts I played didn't have anything that I could use.

As for Horatius Cocles I also didn't consider using historical battles. Being a bit of a history buff myself, I would hesitate to turn either side of any such battle into monsters for the purposes of the game. I don't want to introduce controversy where someone might associate with the side I labeled as monsters.

So far I have come up with battles from The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings as well as from The Chronicles of Narnia. Game of Thrones might be a possibility, since while goblins and orcs don't fit too well in any of those battles, there isn't much risk of anyone objecting that their ancestors came from Casterly Rock.

Werephilosopher
2015-11-03, 12:06 AM
Elder Scrolls...I never thought of video games for a source of material. But are there any specific iconic battles that are going to be well known? I'm not familiar with all of the titles and how they were handled, but the parts I played didn't have anything that I could use.

Orsinium is the name given to many Orcish cities throught history, all founded with the intent of giving the Orcs a homeland of their own. Each time it's been built, though, it's been destroyed by human invaders. Humans often called Orsinium a wasteland with meager prospects, but in reality it was a rich and fertile land of peace. Any of the Sieges of Orsinium would be a good scenario, I bet.

The Great War between the Mede Empire and the Aldmeri Dominion probably has a few good ones. The Sack of the Imperial City, in which the capital of the Empire fell to the Elves; and the Battle of the Red Ring a year later, when the Imperials reclaimed it.

Arbane
2015-11-03, 01:17 AM
Kobolds speak with reverence of the great Attack On Bodan's Farm, where many chickens were stolen.

Goblins tell of the Burning of Brigandine Woods, where they set ALL THE THINGS ON FIRE, before an enraged fireproof treant stomped their leaders to death.

Lizardmen have the still-ongoing Skirmishes at the Red River Delta, where they have been trying to drive out human colonizers for the last 270 years.

Derro Colony Venthive recorded the Attack on the Secret Surfacedweller Listening Post, wherein their crack military force wandered through inexplicably empty tunnels for 15 sleep-cycles before declaring victory and seizing much-needed tin veins. (For anti-divination helmet construction.)

(Some D&D races aren't generally well-organized enough to have battles anyone else would bother putting in a history book.)

ben-zayb
2015-11-03, 01:31 AM
Blood War is as iconic as can be in D&D, but not actually for the military tactics (or lack thereof) showcased