Fortress Adventure - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Fortress Adventure

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
zombiegleemax
Feb 01, 2005 14:11:37 First:Clary, Galans, Edder, and Thethu stay out! My PCs are not allowed in here! This is me asking for advice about my adventure! Go away, player characters!

I'm designing a miniadventure for my PCs about infiltraiting a fortress on the Solamnic-Nerakan border that the KoN just took. I've talked to other people about it, and i'm trying to make it a really neat adventure, so i'm asking for help from the people here. The party's objectives are:

1:Rescue the Solamnic garrison who are being held captive in the fortress.
2:Take down the Nerakan leaders.

The adventure will be happening on the 16th, so we have plenty of time to talk about it.

My party is doing a DM-made campaign from 1st to 24th level. We are 3.2(3.0 core, lots of 3.5 supplements). The group will be 11th level when the adventure starts. I am playing in a game where no NPCs from the books are showing up. I am also playing in a game where the Knights of Solamnia took Solomnia back(Obviously).

Any advice would be very helpful.
#2
zombiegleemax
Feb 02, 2005 20:04:09 I don't have any simple answers for you but here's some questions to ponder. They might help you to flesh out the fortress occupants.

How organized are the KoN?
Is there a new Nightlord?
Is he in the image of Kitiara or Ariakas/Ariakan (sp), or is he more like Targonne?
Are the KoS sending someone with the party or is a party member a KoS?
How long ago did the KoN capture this fortress?
How well equipped/supplied are they and what's their morale like?
Is the fortress held by KoN strictly or by third party mercs under a few KoN?
What's the condition of the KoS prisoners?
Are the KoS asking for a ransom for the prisoners or are they being killed?
Are any of the prisoners improtant members of the KoS?
Is the Legion of Steel active or present in the area?
Does the KoS have any informants or information on the fortress they migght share with the party (ie. good places to sneak in at, secret entrances/passsages, store locations, good places to hole up in.)?
What season will it be?
What will the weather be (if it's hot knight's are less likely to wear heavy armor)?

Hope some, if any, of these questions help. I have to consider just about everything with my group as they come up with the wackiest ideas that are just crazy enough to work.
#3
zombiegleemax
Feb 03, 2005 13:42:24
How organized are the KoN?

Quite.
Is there a new Nightlord?

No. There's a power struggle with no formal Nightlord between the leaders of the Skull and Lilly knights.

How long ago did the KoN capture this fortress?

Recently, i calculated two weeks or so.
Is the fortress held by KoN strictly or by third party mercs under a few KoN?

Elite troops are KoN, but their main army was mercs.
Are any of the prisoners improtant members of the KoS?

The leader was a junior Knight of the Sword.
Are the KoS sending someone with the party or is a party member a KoS?

A party member, Clary, will be a very junior Knight of the Rose when this starts.
Is the Legion of Steel active or present in the area?

No, the LoS is not very present in my games.
Does the KoS have any informants or information on the fortress they migght share with the party (ie. good places to sneak in at, secret entrances/passsages, store locations, good places to hole up in.)?

Yes, they have a map of the fortress.
#4
zombiegleemax
Feb 03, 2005 20:46:04 OK, so it looks like at least 1 party member will be very motivated in recusing the prisoners. The fact that the KoN at the fortress are quite organized would imply that the leader of this brigade or unit is either held in high regard or feared greatly by his subordinates and mercs. So your looking at an imposing confrontation when the PCs meet this individual and his entourage. If he's feared and not respected then there may be a few KoN that are willing to assist the PCs this leaders downfall, otherwise they'd be beating their head against a brickwall trying to get any assistance from within the KoN. Perhaps this leader could become a nemeisis for the party and vice-versa.

Having captured the fortress about 2 weeks ago would mean that they would have a good deal of their own supplies as well as the fortresses supplies. Therefore the party will be encountering healthy, well-fed, and well rested, KoN and mercs. Not a fun task to look forward to. These are hopefully things that a Knight of the Rose will have thought about before undertaking this task.

Somehow the PCs will need to gain entrance into the fortress, the map will be useful here. Hopefully there was an emegency escape route built in for commoners to use during a siege, or that the fortress has a blind-spot (ie. it's has one side that only an idiot would try to come from due to a sheer cliff or gorge). Hopefully they'll spend some time reconning the location to get a feel for partol schedules, tendencies of certain guards, eating schedules. Then before they go they should also have 2 or 3 escape plans.

The best way to make this fun and interresting for the players and you is to have the KoN aware of the party. The KoN leader overconfident of his units abilities will allow the PCs to enter in order to capture them all with minimal risk to his men. His men are given orders to allow the party in so they enter unchallenged or challeneged with minimal effort. That's where things go all wrong for him. The PCs come at an unexpected time or come in an in unexpected place ot noticied themselves being watched and change their plans altogether or whatever and the enter unmolested and ready to raise holy H E double hockey sitcks.

I'd make your basic merc a 2-4 lvl warrior and/or rogue, merc squad leader a 2-4 lvl fighter/rogue, merc squad leader a 4-6 lvl fighter/rogue. 80% of the KoN should fig5/Knight of the lilly 1 or 2. Throw in a few Thorn and Skull knights and you're set.
#5
zombiegleemax
Feb 04, 2005 20:58:24 About the stuff that isn't quoted. My players are well-equipped to deal with anything. By that i mean they can cast Fly on all party members and dash to the turret top through the air. They can then land a surprise attack with the five PCs and two cohorts in the group. I doubt the commanders will know they're coming, but they will certainly be on full battle ready. Yes, this will be hard for my players. I'll enjoy watching the fight.

I'd make your basic merc a 2-4 lvl warrior and/or rogue, merc squad leader a 2-4 lvl fighter/rogue, merc squad leader a 4-6 lvl fighter/rogue. 80% of the KoN should fig5/Knight of the lilly 1 or 2. Throw in a few Thorn and Skull knights and you're set.

Koranith... these are high level player characters and elite soldiers. The mercenary is War6/Rog3(CR 6), the knights are mostly Ftr5/KoL3(CR 8), and there are three leaders. The leaders are all CR 13, one of each order. The one in general command is a Knight of the Lilly.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 zombiegleemax Feb 01, 2005 14:11:37	First:Clary, Galans, Edder, and Thethu stay out! My PCs are not allowed in here! This is me asking for advice about my adventure! Go away, player characters! I'm designing a miniadventure for my PCs about infiltraiting a fortress on the Solamnic-Nerakan border that the KoN just took. I've talked to other people about it, and i'm trying to make it a really neat adventure, so i'm asking for help from the people here. The party's objectives are: 1:Rescue the Solamnic garrison who are being held captive in the fortress. 2:Take down the Nerakan leaders. The adventure will be happening on the 16th, so we have plenty of time to talk about it. My party is doing a DM-made campaign from 1st to 24th level. We are 3.2(3.0 core, lots of 3.5 supplements). The group will be 11th level when the adventure starts. I am playing in a game where no NPCs from the books are showing up. I am also playing in a game where the Knights of Solamnia took Solomnia back(Obviously). Any advice would be very helpful.
#2 zombiegleemax Feb 02, 2005 20:04:09	I don't have any simple answers for you but here's some questions to ponder. They might help you to flesh out the fortress occupants. How organized are the KoN? Is there a new Nightlord? Is he in the image of Kitiara or Ariakas/Ariakan (sp), or is he more like Targonne? Are the KoS sending someone with the party or is a party member a KoS? How long ago did the KoN capture this fortress? How well equipped/supplied are they and what's their morale like? Is the fortress held by KoN strictly or by third party mercs under a few KoN? What's the condition of the KoS prisoners? Are the KoS asking for a ransom for the prisoners or are they being killed? Are any of the prisoners improtant members of the KoS? Is the Legion of Steel active or present in the area? Does the KoS have any informants or information on the fortress they migght share with the party (ie. good places to sneak in at, secret entrances/passsages, store locations, good places to hole up in.)? What season will it be? What will the weather be (if it's hot knight's are less likely to wear heavy armor)? Hope some, if any, of these questions help. I have to consider just about everything with my group as they come up with the wackiest ideas that are just crazy enough to work.
#3 zombiegleemax Feb 03, 2005 13:42:24	How organized are the KoN? Quite. Is there a new Nightlord? No. There's a power struggle with no formal Nightlord between the leaders of the Skull and Lilly knights. How long ago did the KoN capture this fortress? Recently, i calculated two weeks or so. Is the fortress held by KoN strictly or by third party mercs under a few KoN? Elite troops are KoN, but their main army was mercs. Are any of the prisoners improtant members of the KoS? The leader was a junior Knight of the Sword. Are the KoS sending someone with the party or is a party member a KoS? A party member, Clary, will be a very junior Knight of the Rose when this starts. Is the Legion of Steel active or present in the area? No, the LoS is not very present in my games. Does the KoS have any informants or information on the fortress they migght share with the party (ie. good places to sneak in at, secret entrances/passsages, store locations, good places to hole up in.)? Yes, they have a map of the fortress.
#4 zombiegleemax Feb 03, 2005 20:46:04	OK, so it looks like at least 1 party member will be very motivated in recusing the prisoners. The fact that the KoN at the fortress are quite organized would imply that the leader of this brigade or unit is either held in high regard or feared greatly by his subordinates and mercs. So your looking at an imposing confrontation when the PCs meet this individual and his entourage. If he's feared and not respected then there may be a few KoN that are willing to assist the PCs this leaders downfall, otherwise they'd be beating their head against a brickwall trying to get any assistance from within the KoN. Perhaps this leader could become a nemeisis for the party and vice-versa. Having captured the fortress about 2 weeks ago would mean that they would have a good deal of their own supplies as well as the fortresses supplies. Therefore the party will be encountering healthy, well-fed, and well rested, KoN and mercs. Not a fun task to look forward to. These are hopefully things that a Knight of the Rose will have thought about before undertaking this task. Somehow the PCs will need to gain entrance into the fortress, the map will be useful here. Hopefully there was an emegency escape route built in for commoners to use during a siege, or that the fortress has a blind-spot (ie. it's has one side that only an idiot would try to come from due to a sheer cliff or gorge). Hopefully they'll spend some time reconning the location to get a feel for partol schedules, tendencies of certain guards, eating schedules. Then before they go they should also have 2 or 3 escape plans. The best way to make this fun and interresting for the players and you is to have the KoN aware of the party. The KoN leader overconfident of his units abilities will allow the PCs to enter in order to capture them all with minimal risk to his men. His men are given orders to allow the party in so they enter unchallenged or challeneged with minimal effort. That's where things go all wrong for him. The PCs come at an unexpected time or come in an in unexpected place ot noticied themselves being watched and change their plans altogether or whatever and the enter unmolested and ready to raise holy H E double hockey sitcks. I'd make your basic merc a 2-4 lvl warrior and/or rogue, merc squad leader a 2-4 lvl fighter/rogue, merc squad leader a 4-6 lvl fighter/rogue. 80% of the KoN should fig5/Knight of the lilly 1 or 2. Throw in a few Thorn and Skull knights and you're set.
#5 zombiegleemax Feb 04, 2005 20:58:24	About the stuff that isn't quoted. My players are well-equipped to deal with anything. By that i mean they can cast Fly on all party members and dash to the turret top through the air. They can then land a surprise attack with the five PCs and two cohorts in the group. I doubt the commanders will know they're coming, but they will certainly be on full battle ready. Yes, this will be hard for my players. I'll enjoy watching the fight. I'd make your basic merc a 2-4 lvl warrior and/or rogue, merc squad leader a 2-4 lvl fighter/rogue, merc squad leader a 4-6 lvl fighter/rogue. 80% of the KoN should fig5/Knight of the lilly 1 or 2. Throw in a few Thorn and Skull knights and you're set. Koranith... these are high level player characters and elite soldiers. The mercenary is War6/Rog3(CR 6), the knights are mostly Ftr5/KoL3(CR 8), and there are three leaders. The leaders are all CR 13, one of each order. The one in general command is a Knight of the Lilly.