so heres the setup. (3 pc's playing...all lvl 4) you are accompanied by a halfling that youve agreed to help search for his captured brother. his brother was a prisoner being transported via caged wagon to a northern city, which had to go through the forest to get there. on the way through, the wagon was ambushed by bandits, and they have taken the brother halfling hostage.
the encounter will setup with the bandits hiding in their small camp in the forest. the pc's will have the advantage of sneaking up on them (as long as they dont make a lot of noise). the players will get close enough to see two tents, a small campfire, and one single bandit sitting with his back to the players by the campfire.
1. i plan on having a swinging log trap hit them from the side as they enter into the camp.
2. 2 human archers will be in the trees (acting as lookouts) and will be firing on them once they enter the camp.
ive got a great ending for the encounter with vines coming out from the forest and capturing maybe one of the bandits or one of the pc's (or both) and dragging them off through the forest). so there will be some excitement towards the end. what i dont want to happen is for the encounter to get stale. after the swinging log trap, and the initial "ah ha" part....its just rolling dice for combat. not every encounter has to be "epic" and have earthquakes in the middle of the camp with lava rushing down the mountain all while they are dodging lightning bolts. you know what im saying. but i want that extra little something in this encounter to make it pop.
here are my ideas so far, but im not really liking them all that much:
1. have a lone sniper archer hiding in one of the trees. the pc's dont know where the arrows are coming from, but they just know they are getting hit every round. i thought maybe i could bump up the stealth for this sniper and put him in a tree...and put a mini skill challenge in the encounter with the players trying to find out where this guy is.
2. include another pit trap or other kind of trap that will be easier for the pc's to SEE...and mainly just there so that they can use that trap to their advantage. maybe attempting to push a bandit/archer into the pit, or whatever.
3. have the "bandit with his back to the players by the campfire" be just a decoy. players come in, maybe shoot and arrow at the guy, only for some straw fall out of a cloak (scarecrow type thing here). then the bandits/archers in the trees spring their ambush.
i dont want to overload the players too much, and not every encounter has to be a big race. suggestions?
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