[OOC] The Trading Post

[mad_gondsman]

I've been out of town for the past few days, so I'm just now getting around to catching up. I haven't been ignoring you two.

As I told Embrodak, this one is just hard for me to write for. Last year, all of my games kind of screeched to a halt. I know why it happened and that it wasn't me that caused it, but it made me burn out pretty hard. I needed a break, so I left the site for a few weeks. This game was so slow that I figure you guys didn't even notice and without anyone clamoring to keep it going, I lose interest.

I'm still here, but this one is struggling. It isn't that I don't enjoy you guys, but I don't know what to do with it without more input. I feel like it's just going through the motions.

Also, I'm not saying that the five of you (plus 3 kobolds) can't storm a fortified hideout potentially housing as many as three dozen bandits, but if that's what you plan on doing... I'm telling you that you need a really good plan. Even if you sent the 3 kobolds to raise hell outside the gate, and assuming that they aren't killed outright, where exactly are you going to spring forth from to barge inside? If you leave the main path leading to the gate, you'll be attacked by undead, and there isn't any cover for a hundred yards in any direction around the fort, based on your limited reconnaissance. The bandits could come out, kill the kobolds, and get back in and bar the gates all before you even got on your horses.

I wanted all of that to come out during the conversation. Consider that it does, I guess!

[Embrodak]

Originally Posted by mad_gondsman

I've been out of town for the past few days, so I'm just now getting around to catching up. I haven't been ignoring you two.

As I told Embrodak, this one is just hard for me to write for. Last year, all of my games kind of screeched to a halt. I know why it happened and that it wasn't me that caused it, but it made me burn out pretty hard. I needed a break, so I left the site for a few weeks. This game was so slow that I figure you guys didn't even notice and without anyone clamoring to keep it going, I lose interest.

That is why I am clamoring. You brought me in to take over Ahren and I don't give up on a game too easily. I think you can attest in any game you have played with me I am usually the last player standing.....

Do I smell or something?

Originally Posted by mad_gondsman

I'm still here, but this one is struggling. It isn't that I don't enjoy you guys, but I don't know what to do with it without more input. I feel like it's just going through the motions.

Also, I'm not saying that the five of you (plus 3 kobolds) can't storm a fortified hideout potentially housing as many as three dozen bandits, but if that's what you plan on doing... I'm telling you that you need a really good plan. Even if you sent the 3 kobolds to raise hell outside the gate, and assuming that they aren't killed outright, where exactly are you going to spring forth from to barge inside? If you leave the main path leading to the gate, you'll be attacked by undead, and there isn't any cover for a hundred yards in any direction around the fort, based on your limited reconnaissance. The bandits could come out, kill the kobolds, and get back in and bar the gates all before you even got on your horses.

I wanted all of that to come out during the conversation. Consider that it does, I guess!

Given the lethality this campaign has gone through I do not think it is a good idea either of 5 against 36, but we have little else to go on. The only clear sight at this point is Stag Lord. You did state that we have limited reconnaissance.. I don't know what we can do.

Based on more information my current plan is to poison their well. To take the Troglodyte scent we have and poison their water supply with it and then take them out with gorilla tactics.

[Cedric]

I'm not willing to give this one up either without a fight!

But if you are worn out running it then ultimately it's your call.


Poisoning the water supply is actually a good tactic if we manage to find a way near it. Maybe that's where the kobolds could come in handy, although teaching them to poison water supplies perhaps isn't the best of ideas....

[EngrInAZ]

I'm still around as well. I've been slammed at work and busy at home, not a lot of free time lately.

Alric is a frontal assault, charge in kind of guy but he is aware that it is foolish to when so greatly outnumbered. Given his dislike of kobolds and his failure at an attempt at diplomacy, he's been leaving the interaction up to Ahren and Calmor.

Poisoning the well is a good idea to try but not sure how long we will have to wait to discover its effects.

[Embrodak]

Would poisoning the well of bad guys who do not have innocents with them be considered an evil act.

Ahren is LG.. Poisoning the well is not typically a good act.. But there are no innocents.

[OllieNorth]

I am sorry guys, I am going to have to pull out of this game. It's been fun playing with you all, but life has gotten a bit hectic and I need to trim down my commitment on the site. Hope you all have fun, and thank you for the great game!

[mad_gondsman]

The fort is a stone's throw A little farther than a stone's throw, really...arrow's flight from the river. Why dig a well?

*ahem*

That's all I can say without blowing it for you all.

Also, we'll keep Lister around for the assault. I hope Idilippy is still with us. A full-time Magus will come in handy for you all.

[idilippy]

Having run this game twice for two different groups I really, really don't want to give too much in character input, plus Amavi isn't at all on board with working with kobolds, and in real life I tend to be too swamped on my 7 days of night shifts to do much posting. I stand by her "take a look and ambush people" strategy and don't want to add any more because I know through metagame knowledge a few other tactics that would more than likely even the odds or even get us in among the bandits without having to assault the gate, but don't have any in character ideas other than that.

[Embrodak]

Originally Posted by mad_gondsman

Why dig a well?

1) So you don't have to wade through a wall of undead to get water.

2) You don't have to go far in the winter.

3) If you get sieged you have a source of water.

I digress as I assumed they may have a well. If they are going back and forth for water we can ambush them..

[Cedric]

Problem is if we take some of them out while they fetch water they'll notice for sure and then our work could get even harder. Are the undead grounds all around the perimeter? Is there any way to burrow underneath the walls?

If we could somehow start a fire it would force them out to fetch water for sure.

[mad_gondsman]

There are a lot of ways to do this, some harder than others. I'm not trying to sway you one way or another, but my point was that a frontal assault might not be winnable with your present numbers. It isn't impossible, but it would be nasty.

And no, you can't know for certain if there is or is not a well.

[idilippy]

Originally Posted by Cedric

Problem is if we take some of them out while they fetch water they'll notice for sure and then our work could get even harder. Are the undead grounds all around the perimeter? Is there any way to burrow underneath the walls?

If we could somehow start a fire it would force them out to fetch water for sure.

I don't see how it could get harder if we take some out when they leave, whether that's leaving to go raiding, or to harass Oleg again, or to fetch water/food. We'll be facing a smaller number, have a chance to set an ambush, and even if it is discovered that they were killed immediately there will be less of them around to cause problems.

If they decide to turtle up in their fort after we kill some of them we're still better off than we would be now trying a frontal assault against all of them, as we will have cut their numbers down some. Not to mention that if they are turtling they aren't raiding and surely they'll run out of food, water, or patience before we do.

If they decide to come out for revenge we either ambush the force that comes out for revenge if it is small enough that we feel we can handle it or, if it's too big, when the large force leaves there'll be less people around so we could assault a fort with many fewer defenders, either with a hit and run mission where we get eyes on the fort itself (so we have more info to plan with) and cause a little havoc or an out and out assault where we take the fort and then we are the defenders when the force comes back without finding us. Even if a large force is sent out and finds us, forcing a fight, we would still be better off. We'd be facing a force less than their entire group on neutral ground as opposed to fighting the entire force in their home base, complete with the undead and who knows what other problems.

And, it's possible that we could get lucky and catch a group that's sent out on a long mission so they aren't noticed as missing for days or more. If nobody sees them die the defenders won't be certain what happened to them, and could think them deserters, slain by the denizens of the forest, or just taking their time getting back. The uncertainty might cause them more fear, lead to another group coming out to search for their missing allies (who we can also ambush), or even cause some of the bandits to desert or defect (not something I'd bet on being likely, but certainly possible!).

[Cedric]

Well if the water is just an arrow shot away they'd probably notice back at the fort and would either rally out to attack us (Maybe not that bad) or could fortify and get ready for a possible attack.

If we attack anyone leaving when they are out of sight of the keep is another matter, we could soften them up by eliminating a part of them that way.

Also I have the necklace of Fireballs still, it can be used to wreak some havoc on the keep and it's defenders.

[mad_gondsman]

Okay, I obviously haven't had the time for this one lately. I should have a game wrapping up soon, though, so I will have more time to post once that is done. If everyone is okay with my keeping this one on hold for a little longer, I'll PM everyone in a few weeks and see who's still interested. The last encounter is a doozy and I can't rightly handle it while running two other games.

Anyway, I'll check back in with you all in a few weeks.

[Embrodak]

I'm willing to wait... I'm here when you are ready for us..

To be honest I am scaling back my games as I am preparing an Eberron campaign.
I want to put all my effort into that..