To be or not to be (a jerk), that is the question...

[Asteron]

In Kingmaker, I've been running the Hargulka's Monster Kingdom modification, and I have a decision to make for this upcoming session. After being soundly defeated by the PC's forces, Hargulka has taken to sending out raids against the southern most of the kingdom's farms. The Air Kineticist in the party went out looking for them and found a camp of trolls and hobgoblins. Upon receiving a message from the Kineticist, the rest of the PCs promptly headed out with a band of mercenary Barbarians to run the monsters off or destroy them (they outnumber the monsters roughly 4 to 1.) They got there quickly since there is a road to that hex. The monsters heard the army coming and fled, the PCs hot on their heels. We ended the session there and now I have a choice to make. This could be a trap, or not.

The trap is a logical place to go, as Hargulka would hardly send out a force to raid that would be easy to track down and destroy. However, how do I do it in such a manner as to allow the PCs to survive? If I do this, I kinda want to hand the PCs a loss since they've had nothing but victory to date (although they should have some chance to win.)

[Name1]

Is this 3.5 or Pathfinder? 'Cause doing this in 3.5 might be significantly easier than in PF, because a single person can wield insane power there.

[daremetoidareyo]

In Kingmaker, I've been running the Hargulka's Monster Kingdom modification, and I have a decision to make for this upcoming session. After being soundly defeated by the PC's forces, Hargulka has taken to sending out raids against the southern most of the kingdom's farms. The Air Kineticist in the party went out looking for them and found a camp of trolls and hobgoblins. Upon receiving a message from the Kineticist, the rest of the PCs promptly headed out with a band of mercenary Barbarians to run the monsters off or destroy them (they outnumber the monsters roughly 4 to 1.) They got there quickly since there is a road to that hex. The monsters heard the army coming and fled, the PCs hot on their heels. We ended the session there and now I have a choice to make. This could be a trap, or not.

The trap is a logical place to go, as Hargulka would hardly send out a force to raid that would be easy to track down and destroy. However, how do I do it in such a manner as to allow the PCs to survive? If I do this, I kinda want to hand the PCs a loss since they've had nothing but victory to date (although they should have some chance to win.)

The trap doesn't have to directly confront the PCs. Hargulka could be attempting to draw them specifically away from their base of operations to instate a corrupt betrayer crony. PCs return home to find wanted posters, some lame guy in charge, and trumped up charge of the murder of xxxx xxxx, important person to the locals.

Sorting that mess out will take long enough to get forces into defensive posture while he re-groups