Assault on the Hollow Hills
The halfling village at Hollow Hills has been captured by the Black League. Most of the villagers were killed or captured, but a small number of survivors lie in hiding throughout the village. The party must locate and speak to the survivors, learn what happened in the village, and eventually lead a rescue mission to free the captives from the enemy camp. There are too many soldiers in the village to attack head-on, so the party must rely on stealth, luck, and cunning to avoid notice and gather the information that they need.
Hide and Seek
At the beginning of each round, the party makes a group Insight check vs a moderate DC to select the part of the village that they think is likely to harbor survivors of the attack. If at least half of the party succeeds, their instincts are correct and they will find survivors. A failed check results in the party seeking survivors where there are none. Do not reveal to the party the result of their Insight checks.
Getting There
Once a destination is selected, the party must determine how they plan on moving through the village to get there. Let the PCs select a skill to use and make another group check, again with a moderate DC.
Primary skills for movement checks:
- Acrobatics: The party moves from rooftop to rooftop, crawls and tumbles to keep out of sight, or uses a similar unorthodox method of closing the distance between themselves and their destination.
- Athletics: The party seizes the opportunity to move quickly and daringly through an exposed area, relying on speed to avoid the notice of the soldiers.
- Endurance: The party avoids attention by moving quickly and steadily in a very indirect path to their destination, essentially taking "the long way around".
- Stealth: The party moves silently and slowly to their destination, keeping in the shadows all the way.
Secondary skills for movement checks:
- Perception: The party spends some time observing the movements of the patrols before selecting a safe path. A successful Perception check does not count as a success, but contributes a +2 to a primary skill check. Failure brings a -2 penalty to the movement skill check.
- Streetwise: The party closely observes the layout of the village to find an optimal route that avoids the main streets. Success earns a +2 bonus to their movement check, while failure adds a -2 penalty to the check.
A successful move check indicates that the party has successfully manuevered to its destination without being discovered; failure, that it has attracted the attention of a patrol (resulting in a combat encounter).
After three movement failures, the soldiers will be on high alert and the party must hide, make their way out of the village using the same movement mechanic (this time with a hard DC), or take the fight directly to the Black League.
Talking to the Survivors
Whenever the party succeeds in finding a group of survivors, they need to try to learn what what they can about the attack, including how many soldiers were involved and where the captives were taken. The survivors are badly shaken from their experience and terrified of being discovered by the guards, so getting them to talk is no easy feat (moderate DC).
Primary skills for talking to survivors:
- Bluff: Alluding to a large rescue force on the way to save the village, the players lie to bolster the confidence of the survivors.
- Diplomacy: The PCs take a rational approach to talking to the survivors, impressing on them their need for information to defeat the soldiers and free the captives.
- History: Someone in the party recounts a famous episode in history where halflings rose up against adversity to overcome an overwhelming threat.
- Insight: At least one member of the party connects with the survivors on an emotional level, displaying sympathy and compassion for their plight.
Secondary skills:
- Heal: Tending to the wounded earns the party some admiration from the survivors, resulting in a +2 bonus to a primary skill check.
- Intimidate: Attempting to intimidate the survivors will only frighten them further, bringing a -2 penalty to the next skill check.
A successful primary skill check allows the characters to get the answer to a single question from the terrified halflings; for example, they may get a hint at where other survivors might be hiding (once per group of survivors, +2 to the next Insight check to determine where to look), an estimate of the number of soldiers that remain in the village, or information on which direction the captives were taken. Failing a check indicates that the villagers are too frightened to talk any more, and the party must move on to find the next group of survivors.
Conclusion
If the party has at least three successes in talking to survivors, they will be well informed enough to plan their assault on the Black League encampment, e.g. knowing how to time the attack to coincide with a change of the guard, identifying a weak point in the soldiers' defenses, or finding a circuitous route to the captives that minimizes their exposure. In terms of game mechanics, provide a suitable advantage to the party based on their tactics in approaching the encampment-- for example, grant them a surprise round, or reduce the DC of stealth checks. If the party fails in its attempts to get information from the survivors, or fails to move without detection through the village without alerting the guards, grant similar advantages to the soldiers of the Black League instead: a bonus to initiative, increased DCs for the party's stealth checks, or a larger number of troops in each combat encounter.
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