Singhilarity
2008-09-18, 02:42 PM
Ok, I admit it - I screwed up.
I'm a first time DM, and things had been going pretty smoothly (a few revisions here and there) thus far, but situation demanded that I invade the town with an army of Orcs. I'm in over my head, and bit off more than I can chew.
There's a lot going on here, and I'm not going to elaborate on it, at the moment, but the main deal is I don't have a clue how to efficiently run huge combat between forces! I'm just getting a handle on Adventurers Vs 6-8 Foes.
Here's the deal - I've already played two sessions in the battle, and it's gotten cleaner each session, but I'm still at a loss for the most effective way to run things.
It's a fairly small city, nestled against a coastal mountain, with a population nearing 800. Though it is quite isolated it is based on a mining economy. It's also divided into two sections by a sheer drop of about 160', though a stair case bridges the gap between the "Upper City" and the "Lower City". The battle is taking place in the (more slum-like) Lower City. (On the Northern side, with the Upper city to the South - the sea to the East, and a Savannah like plains to the West - Orcs coming from the North)
The Orcs have some extraordinarily powerful magics coursing through them, which causes them to ressurect as Zombies when they die. (Homebrew, please don't dissect the universe with your rulebook infatuation)
They number 100, and 198 Zombies.
There are also 5 (still living) Orc "generals" who ride Bears,
5 Wights (Orcs long since dead and dessicated)
They're big Orcs, not one of them under 6'4", STR 16-18.
And a Frost Giant Cleric (CR8) - the giant is dressed in chains and rags, appearing to be some kind of slave. He's focused mostly on hurling rocks at the walls of the city to cause an entrance.
There are 250 town guard, about 60% of which are civilian militia.
Perhaps eight first level druids, and that again of bards and wizards are amidst them.
There are a few other groups of civilians who haven't evacuated up the large staircase at the Southern end of the lower city that are trying (foolishly) to rally their own defenses.
There's one general who's a Paladin 4/Fighter 3, and one Wizard 8.
The Paladin/Fighter has been mostly concerned with the evacuation of civilians up to this point.
Characters are Ranger 5 and Druid 5 w. Blink Dog animal companion.
Essentially, the town guard are dwindling - 1/3rd of the foes they're facing need to be killed twice. It's not impossible for them, though - particularly if they make it up the staircase and bolster their defenses there.
A big deciding factor is if the Giant manages to use a rock to destroy the stairs.
But, see, all of this is kinda extraneous.
I'm having a hell of a time just figuring out how to manage the shifting tides of the front line - is there an effective way to manage attrition en masse?
Ideally I keep the action focused on the characters as much as possible - they know it's impossible, and they know that I'm in over my head and would rather just get this battle over with - but the outcome is going to be massively influential to the storyline!
As I see it they either
A) Win and begin town clean up
B I) Lose and escape up the stairs
B II) Lose and have the stairs destroyed, possibly having all but the civilians (who've already found sanctuary in the mountains beyond the upper city) slaughtered. - This can mean that the characters, who are capable of escaping, if need be, get to explore a zombie infested town... an idea I admit to finding quite compelling. Or it can mean exile - which accomplishes them getting out in the world and starting to adventure - I have frameworks for adventures *everywhere* they could possibly go.
C) Die (But let's face it, Rule 0 tends to rule against it - though they *are* injured and low on healing)
Are there systems to use to help progress things like this?
I have access to a computer during play time.
How do you professionals manage it?
How do I unscrew myself?
I'm a first time DM, and things had been going pretty smoothly (a few revisions here and there) thus far, but situation demanded that I invade the town with an army of Orcs. I'm in over my head, and bit off more than I can chew.
There's a lot going on here, and I'm not going to elaborate on it, at the moment, but the main deal is I don't have a clue how to efficiently run huge combat between forces! I'm just getting a handle on Adventurers Vs 6-8 Foes.
Here's the deal - I've already played two sessions in the battle, and it's gotten cleaner each session, but I'm still at a loss for the most effective way to run things.
It's a fairly small city, nestled against a coastal mountain, with a population nearing 800. Though it is quite isolated it is based on a mining economy. It's also divided into two sections by a sheer drop of about 160', though a stair case bridges the gap between the "Upper City" and the "Lower City". The battle is taking place in the (more slum-like) Lower City. (On the Northern side, with the Upper city to the South - the sea to the East, and a Savannah like plains to the West - Orcs coming from the North)
The Orcs have some extraordinarily powerful magics coursing through them, which causes them to ressurect as Zombies when they die. (Homebrew, please don't dissect the universe with your rulebook infatuation)
They number 100, and 198 Zombies.
There are also 5 (still living) Orc "generals" who ride Bears,
5 Wights (Orcs long since dead and dessicated)
They're big Orcs, not one of them under 6'4", STR 16-18.
And a Frost Giant Cleric (CR8) - the giant is dressed in chains and rags, appearing to be some kind of slave. He's focused mostly on hurling rocks at the walls of the city to cause an entrance.
There are 250 town guard, about 60% of which are civilian militia.
Perhaps eight first level druids, and that again of bards and wizards are amidst them.
There are a few other groups of civilians who haven't evacuated up the large staircase at the Southern end of the lower city that are trying (foolishly) to rally their own defenses.
There's one general who's a Paladin 4/Fighter 3, and one Wizard 8.
The Paladin/Fighter has been mostly concerned with the evacuation of civilians up to this point.
Characters are Ranger 5 and Druid 5 w. Blink Dog animal companion.
Essentially, the town guard are dwindling - 1/3rd of the foes they're facing need to be killed twice. It's not impossible for them, though - particularly if they make it up the staircase and bolster their defenses there.
A big deciding factor is if the Giant manages to use a rock to destroy the stairs.
But, see, all of this is kinda extraneous.
I'm having a hell of a time just figuring out how to manage the shifting tides of the front line - is there an effective way to manage attrition en masse?
Ideally I keep the action focused on the characters as much as possible - they know it's impossible, and they know that I'm in over my head and would rather just get this battle over with - but the outcome is going to be massively influential to the storyline!
As I see it they either
A) Win and begin town clean up
B I) Lose and escape up the stairs
B II) Lose and have the stairs destroyed, possibly having all but the civilians (who've already found sanctuary in the mountains beyond the upper city) slaughtered. - This can mean that the characters, who are capable of escaping, if need be, get to explore a zombie infested town... an idea I admit to finding quite compelling. Or it can mean exile - which accomplishes them getting out in the world and starting to adventure - I have frameworks for adventures *everywhere* they could possibly go.
C) Die (But let's face it, Rule 0 tends to rule against it - though they *are* injured and low on healing)
Are there systems to use to help progress things like this?
I have access to a computer during play time.
How do you professionals manage it?
How do I unscrew myself?