Players playing defense one-shot idea?

[ToastyTobasco]

I'm thinking about making some one-shot scenarios where players play the defensive role rather than charging headlong into danger.
They create the traps and set ambushes for the incoming enemies. Easy setting would be Kobolds, Goblins or peasants defending their home from murderhobo adventurers or bandits.

PC's would be level 1 or at least low level to up the risk and promote working together. Or I could just use simple things like Peasants, and other Monster Manual bits to keep it simple instead of making people write up whole character sheets for a one shot.

DC of traps would scale depending on how clever the device is. Would severely limit Rube Goldberg machines because they are on a time crunch. More small traps to whittle enemies down or a few big ones to eliminate some out-right.

Thoughts?

[Agent-KI7KO]

I had toyed with a defense quest idea but it was complex. The idea is that the questgiver (an archmage in charge of holding the line in a war) needed to defend a few font of magics while his generals performed a counterattack.

The trick is that as battles proceeded and holes were sealed, enemies would breach into other areas and the party would need to move.

There were other things i had planned but it was convoluted and i ended up throwing it out. I swear I’ll revisit the idea again in the future.

[Mjolnirbear]

Give them X number of traps to have already in place: x pit traps, y trip wires, z skunk bombs, etc. These represent the resources they had over the last few months. Give them a map of their cave or complex or whatever and base the traps on the resources available.

Give them a set amount of downtime to craft something interesting or unique. They can work together or separately.

Set rules:
1) why is this trap here
2) what is the trigger
3) how do residents make the traps safe to bypass


Make the DC to find or spring or disable the trap be a contested roll, made when the invaders come. (find out how well you did only when it matters). For ease, assign traps to players.

Then basically make it a chase. Defenders have a goal: eliminate the invaders or minimize noncombatant casualties or buy time for tribe members to escape or keep the shaman alive long enough to cast the Godsmite ritual. The traps help the goal. The PCs can slink in the shadows or fight directly but the enemies are dangerously strong.

Basically, do a reverse Tucker's Kobolds.

[ToastyTobasco]

Give them X number of traps to have already in place: x pit traps, y trip wires, z skunk bombs, etc. These represent the resources they had over the last few months. Give them a map of their cave or complex or whatever and base the traps on the resources available.

Give them a set amount of downtime to craft something interesting or unique. They can work together or separately.

Set rules:
1) why is this trap here
2) what is the trigger
3) how do residents make the traps safe to bypass


Make the DC to find or spring or disable the trap be a contested roll, made when the invaders come. (find out how well you did only when it matters). For ease, assign traps to players.

Then basically make it a chase. Defenders have a goal: eliminate the invaders or minimize noncombatant casualties or buy time for tribe members to escape or keep the shaman alive long enough to cast the Godsmite ritual. The traps help the goal. The PCs can slink in the shadows or fight directly but the enemies are dangerously strong.

Basically, do a reverse Tucker's Kobolds.

This simplifies things that I have been struggling a bit with. I did get the idea from Tucker's Kobolds.

[Frozenstep]

Still waiting on my friend to live up to his promise of a home alone oneshot with goblin traps.

You'll probably want to have cover, lures, and stealth be major parts of the battle. If you're using goblins, nimble escape could be very good for this, allowing a quick ranged attack, followed by a retreat around a corner and then hiding behind some cover, luring enemies into chasing after them and right into ambushes and traps. Consider if your invasion have dark vision, and if they don't, how they'll try to see what's going on, and how players can counter it. You'll definitely need an extensive map, ideally with a lot of twists and turns.

I also suggest looking into some real life examples, like the Vietnamese Cu Chi Tunnels. Terrifying stuff.

[Ganymede]

I did something kinda like this with my group. The basic premise was that the PCs were locked in a manor house with a wraith as hundreds of "fast" zombies were pouring in through the windows. They had to strike up a balance between shoring up the entry points, making sure the zombies didn't get out of control, and hunting down the wraith.

[ImproperJustice]

There is an old ad&d module called “Reverse Dungeon” that you can probably adapt for 5e.

Players start as Goblins trying to protect their home from a team of 1st level adventurers.