Defending the Horn

So last session, you decided that it was time to look into upping the Horn's defenses in the event that someone -- the nuns from St. Cynthia-Celeste, Valin Darian and his troops, Matthias Harkon and his crew, or who knows what else -- decides to come after you. The obvious question, of course, is: how are you going to go about that? 

Let's start with listing off what we've got. Assets of the 9th Knot Members Sandra: Paladin/Fighter. Tactician. Leader, I guess. Tek: Wizard. Master Craftsman. Probably going to be the most help in making traps. Vinha: Ranger. Assassin. Skilled at ranged and melee combat, but more capable at melee. Natters: Cleric of Tiamat. Skilled at hurting and healing. Might be able to help make and set traps. Goetia: Occultist. Warps reality, which is really helpful to have on our side. Not quite sure what else to put, backgrounds-wise. NPCs Grumblejack: Ogre. The Best. Vinha's Spider: Might be too small to be of use. Sandra's Zombies (16): Primarily dead elves, and one bear. Zikomo: Bullywug Shaman. Worships some weird bullywug god. Probably not very useful in a fight. Bullywug Troops (30): Unknown number. Loyal to Sandra. Ezra Thrice-Damned: Last member of the Sons of the Pale Horsemen. Helpful, but forgetful. Ezra's Wraiths (3): Former members of the 6th (?) Knot. Loyal more to Ezra, not us. Artephius: Alchemical golem. Currently disassembled but still might be of some use. Hexor and Vexor: Well-spoken demons of dubious loyalty. Seem to regenerate some time after death.. Baron Vandermere: Powerful noble. Secret worshiper of Asmodeus. Elise Zadaria: Leader of the 7th (?) Knot. Spellcaster? Has some sort of spy ring. Currently missing. Zadaria's Knot: Consists of three other members. A barbarian and two sneaky twins. Cardinal Thorne: Mastermind. Probably won't be of direct help. Might be able to offer advice? Items Sons' Stockpile: Whatever material wealth we haven't sold off. If there are any magic items, they might be of use. Vetra-Kali's Eyes (3): These probably have some magical properties. Iron Circlets of Disguise (5): Won't stand up to scrutiny. Cloak of Invisibility: From the Sons Stockpile. Vials of Greenfire Oil (3): Thrown weapons? Might be helpful if poured onto a weapon or used in a trap. Other useful and/or magic items the party is carrying: Sandra has some armor. Tek has his orb. Vinha has a dagger. The most vital thing we need to do is make it possible for us to fall back to the shrine on top of the Horn. In the event that all the other floors fall to the enemy, that's where we need to make our stand. I think we'll need some measure in place to destroy the staircases, both the ones on the outside and the hidden one inside, in the event of an invasion. That way we can control our enemies' means of entry. From there, we need to make the rest of the Horn into a Gauntlet of traps and monsters that we can use to weed out our foes. If it comes down to a straight up fight, we need to make sure that our foes have been worn down.

Yeah, the spider is too small, it's not actually a companion animal.  As for Vinha, I think due to some tinkering, she's slightly better at melee than ranged, especially since per ranger rules, she can use Dex in melee instead of Strength.  So, the rolls are better for melee, I have a magic dagger, and I now have the double melee attack feat.  Otherwise, I think you have it covered!

We need a more effective early alarm system.  One thing I believe we can do is set up a series of lines or strings with bells or other noisemaker throughout the horn that a bullywug on patrol can (hopefully) ring before they perish to any intruders.  If we don't have a bullywug stationed outside the horn at the very tip top in some sort of crows nest setup, we should get one up there.  If we get our early alarm system set up, we can have the lookout notify the entire horn if either an army or dragon approaches.  The main purpose of the early warning system is not to tell us specifically what's wrong, but that something is wrong at all.   Thus we can act cautiously until we have more information. Sean, I agree needing to hold out in the shrine until the ritual is complete if we are under siege is the most important part to plan for.  Perhaps we should stockpile nonperishable food in the shrine area just in case we need it.

Those are all very good ideas.

Agreed, an early warning system would be excellent. If we could find some sort of flying sentries that could circle the Horn and alert us to anything approaching, then that would also be nice. That could also warn us if any encroaching threats are capable of flying at us. I have to say, I'm worried about our numbers. Sandra can't have very many zombies remaining and while the bullywugs have been really helpful in the last few battles, I don't think they'll be able to hold off an army. I think ultimately what we'll have to do is start summoning fiendish help. We're already summoning one demon, what would it hurt to have a few more? That's definitely something Cardinal Thorne can help with- he has that one succubus lady who got us free from Branderscar.

Magic-item-wise, you also have the Cloak of Invisibility and three vials of Green Fire Oil that were part of the Sons' loot (see handouts for description).  The Horn was originally discovered by the Cardinal's Fourth Knot, whose members ended up as Ezra's wraith-spawn or killed elsewhere. Zadaria's Seventh Knot included three others -- a burly half-elven barbarian and two sneaky human twins.  You have 30 bullywugs in the tribe, and let's say half a dozen zombies, including one bear. 

Is there anything else we can use in the Horn? I recall something about a treasure chest in the basement, but I think that's already been looted.

Yes, there was a chest on the far side of the boiling mud pool in the caves, but it's long since been emptied.