Boring Barbarian Encounter - Let's Spruce it up

[Chester]

Long story short: 3.5 edition, level 7 party, essentially stole something from an orc barbarian tribe. Tribe wants it back. Party being hunted.

They've fought the barbarians once (mix of orc melee, a magic user, and ogre barbarian). Group is aware that the tribe's kahn is in the vicinity, purportedly mounted on a Nightmare steed.

I don't want the next encounter to be similar. I want to spruce it up. Maybe the Barbarians have some cool pets with them?

So, I'm looking for a less mundane encounter, in which I can put orcs as mooks with a greater, more complicated threat. I want to balance it with something the group can prepare for, with the added "think on your feet" type of encounter.

Things to know:
1. Group has mentioned that they've been caught off guard for the past several encounters, so they'll have an opportunity to be prepared this time.
2. Group tends to panic when their typical tactics don't work.


I guess what I'm asking for would be suggestions for "pets" that, when the group prepares for them, can still adapt and give the group some opportunity to adapt as well. Straight hack-n-slash shouldn't be the end of the encounter.

EDIT: Nightmare may or may not be present at next encounter, shaping up to be big bad.

[Mike Miller]

What is the party makeup? Don't just consider the enemies, also consider terrain and conditions. The encounter can occur in a shallow or deep bog. You can have a heavy mist settle in. There can be a raging storm, which limits visibility and affects ranged weaponry.

Or those and some pets. It is hard to recommend a pet without knowing the party makeup, though.

[Chester]

Half Orc Barbarian
Human Barbarian / Scout
Human Bard / Sorcerer / Rogue (don't ask)
Human Cleric
Elf Illusionist

[MeimuHakurei]

Why not monkey with the barbarian feats/levels to give them a selection of Iron Heart/Tiger Claw maneuvers? Those schools fit savage brutality quite well and you can get enough variety from 1-2 feats or a single Warblade dip.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Include a 3rd or 4th level orc cleric with the trickery domain, who casts invisibility on himself before they engage the party. The cleric can heal his allies, use summon monster or summon undead, and similar non-direct-attack spells without breaking invisibility. Edit: Also give him the feat Earth Devotion in Complete Champion, which can be used to disrupt a charge attempt if they fail one or more balance checks at a -5 penalty.

Fleshraker dinosaurs (MM3) are only CR 2, but they get a ton of natural attacks, some of which deliver Dex damage poison, and get a full attack plus a free trip and then grapple/pin attempt when they pounce. I wouldn't put more than two of these with the opponents, but have them hiding to flank around and go after softer targets after the fight starts.

[Segev]

I'd go for the orcs using wargs and hellhounds to harry the party. Maybe half-fiend wargs (offspring of said hellhounds and wargs), too. Small groups of orcs and the hunting hounds sniffing them out. The orcs engage with ranged weapons and let the hounds loose. They retreat if attacked effectively.

Definitely use fog, or night-time, to make them able to do this. Orcs with sling-stones with light cast on them can illuminate the party while keeping the orcs out of darkvision range.

What's the terrain like? Dry? Moist? Grassy? Forrested? Hilly? Rocky? Swampy?

Have the orcs harry the party into a valley, or canyon, or bog. A swamp would be great. I think the Nightmare can do this natively, but if not, give it horseshoes of a zephyr and have the chieftan ride in OVER the bog they're slogging through. A pet catoblepas or two who are only dangerous if the fog gets lifted/dispelled is a good way to make the party cooperate with the blinding conditions.

If it's a canyon or valley, use rockfalls. If the party refuses to be chased into it, have the chieftan or his orog bodyguards start body-checking or throwing PCs down the cliffsides.

[daremetoidareyo]

Make barbarian teams? Have a flask throwing rogue multi class on each team to control battlefield conditions. A reach weapon barbarian, and a non reach defending powerhouse. Put those bad boys each on their own huge awakened racing scorpions. Throw a ballista on them while you're at it. Ooh! Rigged with large sized harpoons instead of arrows!

And obviously they would have self destruct runes scribed on them

[Pugwampy]

I love Orc pets i have done plenty . Dire Bat riders , Dire Boar Riders , Dire Wolf Riders .

Perhaps you would care for an armoured Mammoth that holds all or most of the enemy party and they can shoot spells or missile weapons at the party . I found melee units are better escorting the mammoth while weaker shooters ride it .

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Chester
I guess what I'm asking for would be suggestions for "pets" that, when the group prepares for them, can still adapt and give the group some opportunity to adapt as well.


Originally Posted by Pugwampy
Perhaps you would care for an armoured Mammoth that holds all or most of the enemy party and they can shoot spells or missile weapons at the party….

If the OP is open to Pathfinder material, there’s a Mammoth Rider (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/prestige-classes/other-paizo/i-m/mammoth-rider/) PrC which could do this.

[EyethatBinds]

I always prefer to give players an encounter that uses unusual rules. Have the orcs armed with nets, spiked chains, and tanglefoot bags. To make the encounter more survivable I would suggest Goblins or Kobolds instead of Orcs though. With a bonus to Str, fighter feats, and rage the orcs might prove too strong to avoid spending most of the encounter hogtied and pushed into some snakewater.

Example Orc Barbarian fighter 2 barbarian 1
Str starts at 14 (elite array) goes to Str 18, rage goes to 22 (feats exotic weapon prof spiked chain, improved trip, improved initiative or Combat Reflexes to make getting up a punishment.
+4 with improved trip makes the bonus to tripping with the spiked chain +11 which would be hard to resist after being hit with a tanglefoot bag unless the character is a strength build.

[daremetoidareyo]

I always prefer to give players an encounter that uses unusual rules. Have the orcs armed with nets, spiked chains, and tanglefoot bags. To make the encounter more survivable I would suggest Goblins or Kobolds instead of Orcs though. With a bonus to Str, fighter feats, and rage the orcs might prove too strong to avoid spending most of the encounter hogtied and pushed into some snakewater.

Example Orc Barbarian fighter 2 barbarian 1
Str starts at 14 (elite array) goes to Str 18, rage goes to 22 (feats exotic weapon prof spiked chain, improved trip, improved initiative or Combat Reflexes to make getting up a punishment.
+4 with improved trip makes the bonus to tripping with the spiked chain +11 which would be hard to resist after being hit with a tanglefoot bag unless the character is a strength build.

Yes! Then add harpoon mounted racing scorpions! Make the pcs figure out how to handle all of that.

[Troacctid]

Give one of the orcs something like a thorn pouch or a minor iceheart. Combine it with a necklace of fireballs. Enjoy nicely toasted PCs.

[Beldar]

Some very good ideas here.

I do like to use the little-used stuff to spice things up.
For instance, Bolas (from Sword and Fist - 3e, I know, but you're the dm and can do that if it amuses you), are a touch attack for 1 damage and entanglement.

Or, there is an obscure feat that lets you brachiate - swing from vines like Tarzan (I'm away from my books and don't remember the name or source - but again, you are the DM and can just go with it without crossing all the T's if you like). Give the orcs that feat and put the encounter in a swamp. Now the party has trouble moving around and the orcs do not.
Or mount the orcs on something that moves through swamp just fine and get the same result.

Or give the orcs mounts, lances, and some mounted feats, like ride-by attack. They charge, hit (or miss) and ride on, then turn again and repeat. Basically force the party to use ranged weapons or readied actions.
Or the same plus trample.

Or give the orcs each a flask of oil, prepared as a molotov cocktail (maybe one in 10 having alchemists' fire to light it all without taking an extra action), and begin by all throwing those. This can be surprisingly devastating - touch attacks, in large numbers, and the d6's add up. I almost TPK'ed a level 11 party this way once - plain unmodified orcs (50 of them) with one flask of oil each.
Similar can be done if they have a shaman back in town casting Water to Acid - plenty of acid flasks for the orcs.

And while it can be debated endlessly whether 3rd party sources can be allowed for players, you as the dm can allow yourself to use them in whatever ways seem suitable.
In light of that - in the book Ultimate Feats, there are these two I used to great effect once. A group of about 100 goblin barbarians used them and the 15th level party had to flee and figure out how to deal with it:
Feats: Warcry (all hearing you make dc13 will save or get -2ac, attacks, and will saves while you rage), Collective Fury (all allies who hear you gain Warcry & it stacks.)

Even the party members who failed saves only on a 1 still failed 5 times on average, giving them -10, and some had -20 or more, making normal attacks pointless to even try.
This while the goblin shamans cast Charm Person and similar spells against your newly lousy Will save...

Bwa, ha ha ha!

[malloc]

Half Orc Barbarian
Human Barbarian / Scout
Human Bard / Sorcerer / Rogue (don't ask)
Human Cleric
Elf Illusionist

Well, I think the next question is this--which characters do you want to shine in this encounter? Because with any encounter, you can add mechanics that make it interesting, and fluff them to fit: members have mentioned crowd control, mostly via movement inhibition; zone control, from fire or acid flasks; vertical challenges, whether it be flying on bats or mammoths; and range control, be it limiting vision or missile range.

The real question when you're designing an encounter is how do you want to challenge the party? If you want to have the barbarian take a backseat, then adding movement control or vertical challenges makes it more difficult for him--a big part of a barbarian's kit is being able to walk up and smack something. If he can't walk, or the thing isn't in melee range, that makes it a challenge. It might force him to think laterally, by climbing up trees and jumping, or trying to grapple a warg rider as it charges past. Or, he might just have to settle for the good ol' bow 'n arrow.

If you want to challenge the bard etc or illusionist, have some trip characters in the mix. Force them to think about using their utility to block enemy movement, or to decide between safety and spells. Side note, don't bully them too much--you still want them to be able to play their character. When bullying casters, make sure you only stop them from acting on alternating turns, otherwise it feels like they don't get to participate.

On the flip side, you can also design encounters to allow individuals to shine, by playing monsters that naturally work into their strengths. Anything big, stompy, and in-your-face with lots of HP? That will play towards the barbarian's strength. Have it go follow him around the combat, and maybe give the creature a stomp attack, which causes all creatures within a 15 ft radius to attempt a fort save or fall prone. Your barbarian is good at fort saves; when he succeeds, he will feel empowered.

Lastly, if you just want a big, generic fight, you can always give the boss an attack pattern with telegraphed attacks that the party can act against to avoid. Think Dark Souls. Maybe they have a giant on a leash that they keep in an iron mask, which limits his vision, so he flails. The barbs on the mask drive him into a frenzy, so he strikes out with a massive mace, but can't see so well. He makes 2 attacks every round, and he has a 5 attack rotation, with at least one of the attacks repeated. Maybe a horizontal swipe at head level, a slam, a horizontal swipe, a grab, and throwing a boulder/tree/whatever. Give him a few 90 degree turns in there. The party will see him stagger into the middle of the battlefield, wind up, swing wildly, then combat starts. At the top initiative, describe the giant as winding up. Then on his turn, he swipes a cone-shaped area with his weapon. Maybe he steps forward first. Then he does a big slam with the mace, hitting a 10x15 area in front of him. Then he winds up for another swing. Your players will have an opportunity to react to what they (correctly) see coming, and that makes the combat feel "engaging". It's pretty video-gamey, but it also feels nice to solve a puzzle while fighting.

So I think the real question is this: what are you trying to accomplish with this combat?