Enemy Tactics for a Custom Battlefield

[Palanan]

I have a battlefield scenario in mind, but I could use suggestions on which enemies would be best for the situation.

This will take place in an ancient forest, with massive trees and a dense canopy. Scattered among the trees are the petrified remains of soldiers, who invaded long ago and were somehow turned to stone. Many of them are still standing, caught in panicked flight; others have been toppled or broken by the weathering of centuries. On occasion they've been engulfed by trees which sprouted and grew in their shadow.

The party is first level, so my question is, what enemies would work best for this scenario? Obviously it would be trivial to destroy them outright, so I'm looking for something which could harass them from cover, staying unseen for as long as possible to create some real tension and worry. What could work well for this?

[Extra Anchovies]

How and why are the PCs entering this forest? Is there an item somewhere in the forest that they need to search for? Are they casually wandering until they find anything interesting? Are they just passing through to an objective on the other side?

A very important thing to remember is that 1st-level PCs are very fragile, with max HP somewhere in the 5-15 range. The goal, then, should be to find ways to challenge the PCs' combat abilities without dealing hit point damage.

Three or four Forestkith Goblins (MM3, specifically the 1st-level warriors) could be a fun encounter. Their AC of 14 and 4 hit points means they won't last long in a fight, and they have an interesting ability called Discordant Frenzy. In a group of three or more they jump and scream wildly, forcing nearby enemies to make a DC 9 Will save or be shaken for the first 1d4 rounds of combat. They also have a penchant for using nets to hinder their enemies, which means they can threaten the PCs without dealing damage, and their low grapple bonus (only +2) means they don't have much chance of dragging a party member off before they can break out of the net or kill the goblins.

Another enemy worth considering is the Twig Blight (MM2). They're worthless in combat, and thus make for excellent mooks. With 15 AC and 5 hit points they go down very quickly, and their attacks are equally pitiful - two claws at +0 for 1d3-1, plus a DC 11 poison that deals 1 point of Strength damage (no secondary damage, even). Send them at the PCs in groups of three to six to harass them or perhaps to distract from some other threat which prepares an attack (maybe a Forestkith Goblin ambush?) while the PCs clean up the twigs. They don't pose much threat of killing anyone, but a lucky hit and a failed save against the poison would definitely convince the PCs that the twigs are worth fighting off.

The Skiurid (MM4) are evil squirrels from the plane of shadow, so they'd probably be a memorable fight - perhaps one at first, and then two or three later on when the PCs know what they're up against. They are once again quite flimsy with AC 15 and 2 HP, and their bite deals a negligible 1d3-4. What makes them a threat is their 3/day Chill Darkness ability, which mimics the Darkness spell with the added effect of forcing each creature in the area to make a DC 13 Fortitude save or take 1d6 damage and 1 Strength damage. It only damages creatures once per cast unless they leave and re-enter the area, but it's potentially a large chunk of a PC's hit points so you'll want to either step the damage down (perhaps to 1d3) or be careful with how often the Skiurids use it.

[Palanan]

Those are all great ideas, thanks.

I should clarify that this is for a Pathfinder game, and to keep things simple I'd rather use creatures from Paizo sources if possible. That said, the twig blights are one of my favorite low-level critters (the infamous "twiggies" from The Sunless Citadel) and I think there's a similar version in Pathfinder. Given the forest environment, they're perfect for stalk-and-hide antagonists.

As for the evil shadow-squirrels, that's also an interesting suggestion, although the Chill Darkness might be a bit much. Do you know if Pathfinder has anything like these, maybe a little toned down?

[Extra Anchovies]

I should clarify that this is for a Pathfinder game, and to keep things simple I'd rather use creatures from Paizo sources if possible.

Gyah! Must've missed the thread tag. Twig Blights and Forestkith Goblins both port in almost perfectly; you'd just need to figure the CMB/CMD numbers for the Forestkith.

The Leaf Leshy (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/plants/leshy-template/leshy-leaf) would make for an interesting and not particularly lethal harasser. Limited flight, decent stealth, constant Pass Without Trace, and the ability to change shape into a small tree all make for a tough foe to catch, but its low defenses (13 AC, 5 HP) means that once it's cornered it hasn't got much of a chance. Its ranged attack (exploding seed pod) hits for 1 damage with a DC 11 Fortitude save to resist being deafened for 1 round, and in melee its shortspear only deals a 1d4-2, so it's unlikely that they'd cause serious harm, but taking care of it quickly could save the PCs a couple hit points. It would also make for an interesting group encounter with a handful of twig blights (at least as many as there are PCs) - the twiggies get in the way and take up the party's attention while the Leshy gets a few good tosses in.

Other than that, I'm not seeing anything on the SRD that looks fitting.


As for the evil shadow-squirrels, that's also an interesting suggestion, although the Chill Darkness might be a bit much. Do you know if Pathfinder has anything like these, maybe a little toned down?

They'd port into PF without a hitch. Some ideas for alterations to Chill Darkness:


Reduce the damage from 1d6 to 1d3
Have creatures take damage at the end of their turns, allowing a chance to move out of the AoE
Limit the maximum number of simultaneous active Chill Darkness effects

Also keep in mind that Darkness is only shadowy illumination, so the PCs could still see where the Skiurid are and would have a 20% miss chance against them.