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Epinephrine
2009-01-15, 03:01 PM
One group I'm in is playing the Red Hand of Doom (and I would not like any spoilers), and I'm wondering if tactically we are about to blunder, based on general knowledge, rather than spoiler knowledge.

The situation:
We know that a big army is heading toward the city of Brindol. We've evacuated towns along the way, and we're WAY ahead of the army. Like 3 weeks or more until the army hits the city, and that's assuming they go faster since they're not looting/fighting as much (we get around pretty quickly).

We were trying to figure out what preparations we could make to fight off this force, and how to defend the city - obviously to us, the city was ideal - we'd have walls, places to rest, the support of the military, etc. But looking at the situation, it's really bad.

The city has no wall along the entire northern side, relying instead on a river - which means that siege engines, archers, and mage-types can essentially pick their targets - they have line of effect and sight to pretty much everything. Horrible! We'd have to try to shore up the north, but that leaves the dragon free to demolish the other walls. If we split up we won't be tough enough to face the dragon, but if we're together the dragon can just avoid where we are and help the army smash through wherever we aren't. Additionally, we are weak on flight - we have the use of some giant owls and dire bats if needed, but going into the air against a dragon isn't a good idea. Because we use a "natural 20 = 30" rule for hitting, the dragon is likely safe against the arrows of the townsfolk. Without that rule he'd have to worry about natural 20s dealing damage, and flying within range of a pile of archers would potentially be dealing him damage, but even the smallest Huge red dragon can buff well into the 30s for AC (say Mage Armour and Shield, without even looking at the possibility of cleric/druid buffs or items), so the troops wouldn't be able to hit him at all.

We're starting to think that the only real choice is to go out into the field and harass the army enough that he decides to deal with us. The city gives him far too many targets, and the very real option of ignoring us, so long as his side is killing the town faster than we are killing them (once weighted for proportional losses). Engaging them on the march might work better, since there are no alternate targets - the equation is that they have losses and we don't, and he's the one that might be able to deal with us.

Of course, this also sounds suicidal. We're coming on ninth level and he'll be at least CR13, if he's the smallest huge red dragon there could be. He may also have a rider, and in the past those guys have been tough too. He may also try to bring support with him. The whole time that we're harassing him we'll also have to watch for scouts, and be ready to flee faster than whatever else he can throw at us (a hundred goblins on worgs, a flight of wyverns, who knows - our scouting earlier revealed the extent of the army and the presence of some of these foes, but he may have even worse stuff in store).

The thing is, we've beaten two dragons (a black and a green) before, when we chose the battleground and managed to get them somewhat alone (or at least managed to delay the ground support till too late) - but we had arranged it so that they would either have a hard time breaking away from us if they engaged, or that it was essentially impossible to get away. Doing so with the city will be hard, as we can't limit his targets effectively, and he has a good reason for extreme caution.

Is it completely crazy to think that the best move is to go out and harass an army? Are we being far too pessimistic about trying to defend the city? Too optimistic about the odds of hurting them enough to get a response from the dragon? The city looks like a lost cause to our eyes - if the full force arrives with a dragon I'd guess it is game over, as it uses its super movement to fly about and trash targets we can't defend. At least in the wild we can limit the targets essentially to us, which makes defending it much easier (since we just need to keep us alive and his attention on us). Enough distance between his support and the showdown and we might manage to bring him down and get away.

Tacoma
2009-01-15, 03:12 PM
Sounds like you want to fight the dragon separately from other enemies. Hopefully with some backup on your side. So what does the dragon want? What can you lure him out for? He is probably staying with the army for his own purposes - but does he lead the army? Could you draw him out into the city or out into the countryside?

If they're after wealth you could set a trap. Wagons loaded down with rubble leaving the city look an awful lot like people trying to escape with the best loot. Maybe your dragon would break off to stop the loot train, at which point you spring out.

Another option is waiting for the dragon to commit himself to an attack point, then getting there to engage him. Disguise yourselves as regular folks so he doesn't think you're a leader or anything.

Picking the city was a good choice. Why is he attacking this city? Is there something in it he wants? Obviously they're in a hurry since you say the army isn't looting along the way.

One option might be to meet the army along the way and harry them, picking off their lowbies and stealing equipment. Try to knock out their Clerics in surgical strikes to prevent them from creating food and water and then poison their supplies. They might be forced to start looting the countryside for feed and this would slow them down to allow the city defenses more time to prepare.

The city's wealth and goods should be moved underground. Just clear out anything they might want to steal or burn. Set up barricades in the streets and assume the buildings facing the river will be targets. Assume they can get over your walls. Use the street barricades to quarantine attackers.

Station troops around but use blitz-style strike forces that have the highest mobility possible. Your owls and bats should be used to deploy these strike teams, but not directly engage in combat. The flying mounts should just pick up some skirmishers and move them to the battle, then fly back for more reinforcements.

Call for help from any neighbors.

Nahal
2009-01-15, 03:14 PM
If you're capable of infiltration, you might consider trying to take out some of the army's command structure. Killing officers is a tried-and-true military tactic, since it leaves the army less able to coordinate and discipline itself. Do enough damage to the chain of command and they'd pretty much have to deal with you. That still leaves you with the issue of the dragon though...

Seatbelt
2009-01-15, 03:17 PM
Well, defending the river seems unimportant. Anything trying to sail over is easy pickings. Siege equipment on the river-side is a good idea if you want to raise the city but I dont think these guys do.

I ran the game for some friends, and I don't think it plays any part in the battle at all.

Epinephrine
2009-01-15, 03:30 PM
Hmm, thanks - good thoughts.

We don't know preceisely what they're after, just that the army of (thousands of) orcs is invading, that Tiamat is involved somehow, and we have a map showing the route by which they are planning to come. It has many descriptions like "good plunder" or "burn this" on various towns, and Brindol is a walled city which they've marked as being a tougher fight. That said, we don't know exactly why they're invading. We should probably find out, though it may be as simple as "we want all this land, and to kill all the humans in it".

Infiltrating might be possible if we split up, but only some of us would be good choices for the task - I'd be pretty horrible, having no bluff skill, no charisma bonus, and being unable to speak orc.

Harassing them on the other hand, I'm superb at, being a druid. Spike Stones, Spike Growths, Contagion on returning scouts, Craft (Poison) as a skill, Plant Growths and Soften Earth and Stone on the path, Warp Wood on wagon wheels, as well as a pile of other fun spells that can make life hellish for an enemy that decides to go through the countryside. Despite the DM limiting spell selection (and the fact that I'm a hunter-style druid - no wild shape in the campaign) to PHB and 2 additional spells per level, I've got some nice selections to create trouble.

Dragons certainly may be greedy - I like the idea of using fake wagons to get his attention, from a city ahead of them. If he felt that the army wouldn't overtake them but he could do it easily himself it just might work. I had assumed that bloodying his forces would be a good way of getting a response, but it might be too big a response - your idea of a wagon train is non-threatening, but it's a target that's worth catching. If they don't look particularly dangerous he might not even be buffed!

The trouble with the city is just that it's so much to defend, and that he doesn't ever have to engage really. Flyby attacks to breathe fire on the guards on the wall would quickly demolish the wall support, and if he faces resistance on one section he can just go elsewhere. We're not going to be taking him out in a single round, and the party has 2 melee types, a healer/archer, and a druid. We really need him on the ground to stand a chance, which means getting him to come in close.

ShneekeyTheLost
2009-01-15, 03:35 PM
To shore up the north side, may I direct you to Wall of Stone (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/wallofStone.htm). In a day, maybe two, you can easily get that wall across. Make sure it's behind the river, which will then act as a moat on that side.

Find a way to split the dragon off from the army. Examine all your information and see if there is any way you can convince/force it to be not where the army is.

You might... might be able to take the dragon, if you hit him from surprise, or if you have the ground prepared for him. And he doesn't have an army behind him.

If you can split the dragon from the army, then you can defeat in detail.

Failing that, Greater Magic Weapon on a few quivers of arrows. Suddenly, they're magic, and they hit easier. All you need is a few hundred of them, and duration is hours/level.

The real problem with the dragon is, starting at Huge size, they get Frightening Presence. This is pretty much auto-loose if it gets among your pesants.

They also start getting SR 19 as well, which may cause problems trying to target him directly with magic.

Okay, here's what you do: If you have any way of making attacks turn into touch attacks, then it gets simple, as his touch AC is 8. We can also exploit his weak touch ac with RTA's.

Furhtermore, you can ground him with Control Winds. Downburst him and force him to ground. This is a major advantage for you. Sleet Storm does cold damage, this is a good thing.

Tacoma
2009-01-15, 03:39 PM
We have a map showing the route by which they are planning to come. It has many descriptions like "good plunder" or "burn this" on various towns, and Brindol is a walled city which they've marked as being a tougher fight. That said, we don't know exactly why they're invading. We should probably find out, though it may be as simple as "we want all this land, and to kill all the humans in it".

Okay. You want to move out, to an area they plan on attacking but don't perceive as a threat. After all, you are going to make the difference here. Get to one of the towns close to them, perform some minor preparations, and hope they just send in a bunch of lowbies to take out the town while the rest of the army marches past.

Best scenario: you ruin a good portion of their army because they were unprepared.
Likely: you start to ruin their junk and the main army backs up to see what's going on.
Worst: They come in full force for every little operation, down to stealing the butt sponge from Old Man Whithers' outhouse. Even here you're really not in a bad place, you're just performing a good stall tactic and causing some fatalities before fleeing. Just like you would harrying them normally.

Actually the absolute best scenario would be that the dragon notices something weird in the town, orders the army to back up, and comes back faster by himself. Woot!

Places that say "good loot" you should loot first. Or if you're goody-goody, move the loot out and hide it. Any loot they gain is making them stronger.

Finally, you know their route? That's awesome. In the next two weeks you should be out in the countryside killing their scouts and rearguard, making them think something is coming up after them. Try to hit seige engines specifically.

But your goal is the kill the dragon and disperse the army. You don't really need to save Bristol or any other town. If it looks like the dragon and company are tearing things up in Bristol, order the troops to perform fighting withdrawals knowing they'll probably end up dead. Swing around during your escape and destroy their lightly-guarded seige engines that are set up and firing at the city. Get out and continue harrying the army as it moves on.

Finding out what the army wants, though, is paramount.

Epinephrine
2009-01-15, 03:51 PM
To shore up the north side, may I direct you to Wall of Stone (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/wallofStone.htm).

Great idea, but it's Druid 6, and our other caster is a level behind in spell progression, so won't have access to level 5 spells.


Failing that, Greater Magic Weapon on a few quivers of arrows. Suddenly, they're magic, and they hit easier. All you need is a few hundred of them, and duration is hours/level.
Good point, we normally do it to bows/weapons - it's only +2, but that's handy. It might put the dragon into the range to be hit by the militia, if we passed those around.


The real problem with the dragon is, starting at Huge size, they get Frightening Presence. This is pretty much auto-loose if it gets among your pesants.

Crap, I had forgotten about that. Even more reason not to rely on the town. The walls won't even be defended once he does a flyby or two.


They also start getting SR 19 as well, which may cause problems trying to target him directly with magic.

Yes, I'm aware of that - it's going to suck mightily. I do have an idea that involves using weather eye to predict when a nice storm is coming along, trying to lure him away from the group, and using my Control Winds to surprise him with winds that knock him out of the sky (with no SR and a DC 30 fort save). Of course, that's on the off chance that a strong enough wind comes along before they can get to the town - and winds that strong are less than 5% of the time, so over 20-30 days it's not a certainty.


Okay, here's what you do: If you have any way of making attacks turn into touch attacks, then it gets simple, as his touch AC is 8. We can also exploit his weak touch ac with Enervation to try and bring him down a few notches.

Nobody has enervation. No arcane caster, just 2 melee, a druid with mostly PHB spells, and an archivist who took a non-caster level, and has very few spells known. Yeah, it's a bit depressing that way - on the plus side, I'm a winter court druid who happens to have traded all my fire spells for cold versions of the same, and I have Piercing Cold metamagic - so if I do get through his SR and save I can deal a pile of cold damage. Normally not having access to fire spells has sucked (say, versus trolls, undead that are cold immune, and so on), but for once it'll be handy.

Murderous Hobo
2009-01-15, 03:56 PM
How many Ballista can a whole town crank out in three weeks? Thirty, forty? Deconstruct an eqaul number of roof tops so they can open and close after the shot so the Dragon won't be able to locate the Ballista easily.

You can also construct a few thousand kites or lampoons on a string to block the airspace. Let them all up at once when the Dragon makes a low pass over the city and he'll get stuck in the strings. With so many of them, even a dragon can't break free. If he tries to burn his way out he'll have to hover to avoid getting stuck which makes him an easy target for the Ballista.

I don't know how many fliers there are on your side and if they can out run a dragon. If they can, you can construct explosives that your fliers drop from above on the dragon. Put a string in between two so they'll hang round the body or the wings of the dragon while the fuse runs. This way I reckon the fliers can easily goad the Dragon into chasing them into the towns airspace.

It'd be ideal if you can capture the Dragon, then you suddenly have a big bargaining chip.
---

For the Northern side, see if you can make use of the river to flood that area.

shadowfox
2009-01-15, 04:21 PM
Having no knowledge of this campaign, I can only offer you the information you seek: suggestions based on what you're given.

Alright. Well, ironically, the river, although not walled, is probably the easiest location to guard. If there's a river, there's probably a bridge. If there's a bridge, they'll probably try to march their way across. Now, I'm not sure if you're familiar with the Spartans or the movie 300, but...

At any rate, three-dimensional combat puts a hamper on ground troops. Hence, why you give the enemy a reason to worry about three dimensions.

The urban environment is one of the worst battlefields to have. The walls will be the first line of defense, with the city itself being the second wall of defense. You have to realize that the natural layout of cities make it more difficult for numbers to overwhelm. That's not to say, however, that numbers are useless. It's just that, in game mechanics, a 20-foot wide street takes 4 defenders to block the path of an entire wave. Also, you have the advantage of buildings and resources. Archers on top of buildings, for instance, can rain arrows down on the orcs while staying out of melee range.

As someone before me said, hide all the treasure. In fact, work with the local government to requisition as much equipment and services as possible. Get volunteers to bolster the defending force, resorting to conscripts if the situation is dire (and no sooner, as conscription is often unpopular). Anybody that's not capable of fighting should flee. That's when you can grab items, such as tables, and make them into makeshift barricades.

If you go out into the field and challenge the enemy, I don't think it will end well for you. I mean, you said it yourself: to confront them on their terms, in order to draw out the dragon, is pretty much suicidal.

Personally, however, I would have been trying to gather volunteer fighters from the towns your party has been evacuating, in order to bolster up a larger defensive force. Other than that, leave a large portion of the defensive force on the walls, a smaller part of it guarding the river (or the bridge; if there's a bridge, then they'll make their way over it, and, as a last-ditch effort of defense, you might be able to destroy it). Keeping a reserve force would also be a good tactic. All this, though, is assuming you have any influence over the defense of the city.

In any case, continue what you've been doing: have the enemy fight on your terms. Again, the city is an attacker's nightmare, especially when snipers are involved (even if they only use crossbows or bows). The advantage of numbers begins to diminish in tight city streets and alleys, and there are plenty of places to hide. Even siege equipment becomes more of a problem; no matter if they're orcs, a soldier is a soldier, and a good commander would realize that maybe, just maybe, sending an artillery barrage centered on the location of his own troops is a bad idea. Even then, walls block direct LOS of catapults and such, and, from the river, buildings will do the same job. Even if they smash houses to ruin with giant rocks, there's still cover to be found in the broken (and possibly partial) husk of buildings.

Telonius
2009-01-15, 04:30 PM
How good are you at diplomacy and bluff?

:elan:: Hey, Orc chieftain! We're really not worth the effort, and we've thrown everything worth more than 1gp into the river anyway. But you know, there's this dragon over here. And dragons have oodles of gold just lying there. They sleep on the stuff!

:thog:: Hmm. Talky-man make sense. Kill dragon!

Warning: this may result in the DM throwing dice at you, even if he allows it.

ShneekeyTheLost
2009-01-15, 04:36 PM
Great idea, but it's Druid 6, and our other caster is a level behind in spell progression, so won't have access to level 5 spells. Wall of Thorns, then. It blocks LoS, which is what counts.



Good point, we normally do it to bows/weapons - it's only +2, but that's handy. It might put the dragon into the range to be hit by the militia, if we passed those around.



Crap, I had forgotten about that. Even more reason not to rely on the town. The walls won't even be defended once he does a flyby or two. Yea, you need to keep dragon out of town.




Yes, I'm aware of that - it's going to suck mightily. I do have an idea that involves using weather eye to predict when a nice storm is coming along, trying to lure him away from the group, and using my Control Winds to surprise him with winds that knock him out of the sky (with no SR and a DC 30 fort save). Of course, that's on the off chance that a strong enough wind comes along before they can get to the town - and winds that strong are less than 5% of the time, so over 20-30 days it's not a certainty. Don't need to worry about Weather Eye, you can make your own darn hurricane with Control Winds. This will keep him grounded. Summon Nature's Ally V includes Large Air Elemental, in Whirlwind form, is your storm. It also grants party Concealment, so red dragon cannot attack effectively.




Yeah, it's a bit depressing that way - on the plus side, I'm a winter court druid who happens to have traded all my fire spells for cold versions of the same, and I have Piercing Cold metamagic - so if I do get through his SR and save I can deal a pile of cold damage. Normally not having access to fire spells has sucked (say, versus trolls, undead that are cold immune, and so on), but for once it'll be handy.
Flame blade = Ice Blade... as a touch attack, deal cold damage. Wall of Fire becomes Wall of Cold as well... keep him grounded and keep him chilled.

Your party is very sub-optimal for this particular challenge, but it's not insurmountable.

Greg
2009-01-15, 04:54 PM
Wand of Ray of Clumsiness - costs a minimum of 750gp (SpC). Gives a d6+1 per caster level Dex penalty for 1 min/level. 10 Points of penalty makes the dragon immobile. The dragon has a poor touch AC, which only gets worse as you hit it with this ray.

A CL5 version of this wand would give d6+5 penalty for 5 mins. Each casting would penetrate SR 35% of the time, and could potentially down the dragon for 5 mins (a third of the time it gets past SR - the other two thirds of the time, it would need another casting within 5 mins) - long enough for you to cast your cold spells on it to kill it. The wand would cost 3750gp though. Depends on your budget.

Nightson
2009-01-15, 06:08 PM
Having never played the module, I can only give general advice.

Cackle Fever is an airborne disease, requires a DC 16 fort save, has a one day incubation period, and deals 1d6 Wisdom damage, castable by Contagion. This thing is practically designed to stop an orcish horde in it's tracks. Infecting scouts is a good option, infect animals and send them into the camp, infect animals, kill them, and then dump them in bodies of water, sneak into camp and infect many orcs at once.

Convince any game in the area to leave said area. Attack hunting parties that are sent out, Diminish Plants if necessary. Armies gotta eat, they can either pillage it from the countryside or cart in in from the homefront, deny them both if you can.

Armies gotta drink, dam up streams, poison standing water sources (you told the wildlife to go away after all). Control Water may be of use here, reading it I'm not exactly certain what the spell does. Commune with Nature is your ally, you will know the terrain a thousand times better then the enemy.

Kill the healers, Call Lightning Storm has a range of 760 ft. and can hit with 15 bolts dealing 5d6 damage apiece. That should kill most Adepts/Clerics of appropriate level in 2-3 rounds without them ever knowing you're there. This thing can do about 150 points of damage total as well, enough to wound the dragon.

Sap the army of morale if you can, research what the orc religion/people consider to be bad omens and arrange as many of these as you can.

Control Winds can kick moderate winds up to windstorm levels, or strong winds up to hurricane levels. If at any point the orc army is passing through grassy fields, set a fire and kick up control winds to kill thousands.

Soften Earth and Stone must be cast on any roads and paths the army intends to take of course.

Warp Wood on wagons, barrels, or spears. Rusting Grasp on any important metal things.

The army should turn back before too long, and if not, most of them will die from lack of food or water or disease.

Greg
2009-01-15, 06:20 PM
Cackle Fever is an airborne disease, requires a DC 16 fort save, has a one day incubation period, and deals 1d6 Wisdom damage, castable by Contagion. This thing is practically designed to stop an orcish horde in it's tracks. Infecting scouts is a good option, infect animals and send them into the camp, infect animals, kill them, and then dump them in bodies of water, sneak into camp and infect many orcs at once.

I like most of those ideas, but not this one. The human population are more susceptible to disease than the orcs are. Plus they are in a city, so more spreading of disease, particularly when the siege starts and the orcs catapult bodies in.

Nightson
2009-01-15, 06:34 PM
I like most of those ideas, but not this one. The human population are more susceptible to disease than the orcs are. Plus they are in a city, so more spreading of disease, particularly when the siege starts and the orcs catapult bodies in.

Well, the army is a month out, and Cackle Fever doesn't kill, it saddles the orcs with thousands of unconscious fellows. The only way the disease could damage the human town's chances is if the orcs set in for a long siege, which seems unlikely. It's a calculated risk, but a month of disease tearing through the army, making them either care for their unconscious comrades at great expense of speed and supplies, or slit their throats while they sleep, it'd tear just about any army apart.

I'm sure the orcs have at least one 5th level cleric on their side as well, so they'd have access to Contagion as well regardless of whether you strike first.

Megafly
2009-01-15, 07:32 PM
sounds to me like you have 3 long weeks to level up killing the scouts and flankers, and especially supply chain of the orcs. You could take a select group of town militia with you and let them "assist" you in fighting the orc army.

You may not get enough experience to level in 3 weeks, but i guarentee that after a few combats they won't be level 0 or 1 commoners anymore. they might actually get levels of Warrior!!

Epinephrine
2009-01-15, 08:46 PM
Yes, Contagion is among many things I plan to do to the army. I'm honestly not that worried about the orcs themselves - an army of low-mid level enemies isn't a huge problem, it's the support - spellcasters, flying units (manitcores, chimerae, wyverns), giants, and most of all, the huge red dragon.

There are a some good ideas though for dealing with the dragon/elite groups, so I have some neat new stuff to work with. Thanks very much for all the ideas!

zakk2to2
2009-01-16, 12:20 AM
for spellcasters harrass them when they should be sleeping and make shure they don't get the required amount. not only will this prevent spellcasters from casting but more gaurds will be need to defend them. also don't train the townspeople as warriors train them as rangers so they can get bonus against attacking either orcs or dragons and such. also use ranged attacks! dont bother with one on one. it might not have worked so well against the spartans but blotting out the sun with your arrows and there will be enough natural 20's that you could kill a large chunk of casters if you know where to aim.

TheDarkDM
2009-01-16, 02:57 AM
Take a page from Vietnam/the Russian Front of WWII and apply it to a medieval setting. For example:

The Orcs probably expect little to no resistance on their way to Brindol, as you have been evacuating settlements on the way. Checking the Red Hand book, you have 800 militia to work with, as well as the elite Lions of Brindol. Use this manpower to erect roadblocks in the way of the orcs. Even 100 men working half a week ahead of the approaching horde can dig hundreds of pit traps, at least slowing the enemy and at most killing some of them and destroying their supply trains.

There may be minor abandoned settlements in the path of the horde. Use your man-power to turn one of them into a trap-the orcs will no doubt wish to loot the entire area, and are unlikely to notice if every structure in the village has been doused in oil, so long as you've given it enough time to seep into the wood. After that, you simply need one archer with a decent hide check, flaming arrows, and a horse to trap a good number of orcs in a flaming death-trap and make the rest of the horde far more cautious when appproaching even the smallest of settlements.

So long as you have enough food in Brindol to last out a siege, set fire to every blade of grass on the orc's path, preferably when their front lines are visible in the distance. There should only be 20 or so men assigned to this task, with horses, and full knowledge of the orc's speed capabilities. This accomplishes the same ends as magically blighting all nearby food, as well as potentially damaging the orc's morale. While no soldier likes going hungry, they like it even less when the countryside is filled with choking smoke and ash for their entire march. Hell, if you can generate enough smoke, you'll force the dragon to stay close to the ground in order to keep tabs on its army.

With the combination of death-trap towns and a scorched earth retreat from the horde, the orcs will likely be frustrated/desperate for some good news. Give it to them. If you are willing, send out a group of commoners with several wagons towards the orcs, reassuring them that they are re-supplying some town. Have all the food/wine/items in the wagons poisoned in some subtle way, either from infusing it with some handy herbs or soaking it in filth. With the ammount of attrition they are suffering, the orcs are unlikely to look a gift horse in the mouth before it's too late. Note, this will likely only work if you are willing to sacrifice the commoners, as the orcs will probably be suspicious of abandoned wagons at that point.

Concerning the Lions of Brindol, use them to pester the orc's flanks rather than yourselves. This not only gives you the chance to focus on defending the city, but also allows them to possibly level. If at all possible, they should be the ones executing all the traps you have had your laborers construct. Again, you have a month and anywhere from 100 to 800 men, so you can construct a lot of roadblocks/plague blankets/demoralizers in a reasonably wide area arounf the orc's area of approach.

Unfortunately, this still leaves you with the issue of the dragon. Hopefully, your attrition tactics will infuriate the dragon as much as its soldiers, making it prone to mistakes. After a few weeks of fighting a guerilla retreat, give the orcs a target to good to ignore, but too mobile for any but the dragon to engage, such as the entirety of the Lions, as well as the party, on horseback. Allow the dragon to get far enough away to mitigate army support, then bust out your carfully selected flight negation tactics. While the big D is grounded, send the Lions far enough away to provide ranged support while you engage the dragon in melee. Hopefully, by presenting it with pests instead of PC's, you will fool the dragon into attacking relatively un-buffed. And once you've killed it, leave its corpse in plain sight of the orc army, but take its head back to Brindol for a massive morale boost.

Ideally, this will all be executed before the horde even sees Brindol's walls, allowing you to rest/recover before organizing for a proper siege.

Twilight Jack
2009-01-16, 04:25 PM
Wand of Ray of Clumsiness - costs a minimum of 750gp (SpC). Gives a d6+1 per caster level Dex penalty for 1 min/level. 10 Points of penalty makes the dragon immobile. The dragon has a poor touch AC, which only gets worse as you hit it with this ray.

A CL5 version of this wand would give d6+5 penalty for 5 mins. Each casting would penetrate SR 35% of the time, and could potentially down the dragon for 5 mins (a third of the time it gets past SR - the other two thirds of the time, it would need another casting within 5 mins) - long enough for you to cast your cold spells on it to kill it. The wand would cost 3750gp though. Depends on your budget.

Per the Spell Compendium, ray of clumsiness can't reduce a creature below Dex 1. So it won't incapacitate, but it will surely hamper.