RHoD Addendum - Adjusting Skull Gorge Bridge

Hey folks!

Fun situation this week - my players are about to reach Skull Gorge Bridge, but they really took their time! A series of retreats and side excursions means that they are arriving on day 8 - the day the Red Hand is set to arrive at Skull Gorge Bridge! I don't want this to mean auto-failure, but it's sure going to make this already tough scenario a bit tougher. Let's jump in!

Timeline: Crossing the Bridge

The army is big, and takes time to travel! As such, we'll have them arrive over the course of the day, tracking watch by watch starting with Dawn (using my travel rules).

1. Dawn. The army makes contact with bridge guards and begins establishing Patrols on the other side.
2. Morning. The army adds Reinforcements to the bridge, doubling the Hobgoblin guards and establishing Response Teams nearby to chase down stragglers.
3. Afternoon. The army begins to cross! If the PCs want to attack, they should do it quickly. Each hour, there's an additional Response Team crossing the Bridge, and they quickly start establishing camps on the far side of the bridge.
4. Evening. Attacking directly is basically impossible. There are too many Hobgoblins in front of and around the bridge, and bigger creatures like trolls and giants spend the evening towing Siege Equipment across!
5. Night & Predawn. There are camps set up on both sides of the bridge, going a ways into the Witchwood. Getting in would be extremely difficult. Getting out after blowing the bridge, nearly impossible.

I'll just be stealing from Encounters at Drellin's Ferry to make this easier. So the initial Patrols will be Goblin Warg-riders, and Response Teams will be Soldiers and a Hell-Hound, both as per Goblin Raid. I will probably replace the 2nd squadron (Bladebearer + 4 hobgoblins, theoretically doubled from reinforcements) with Wyrmlord Koth, since he survived, and will use the surviving Manticore as the first in line to try to hunt the PCs down when they flee! (Also probably some more Warg-riders).

I'll be a little generous with timing - if the PCs attack right at the start of a watch, the new forces probably aren't in place yet, and I might add things slowly if they take just like, an hour, for example.

The PCs will also earn fewer Victory Points and delay the Hand less the longer the wait:

• Morning - Mid Afternoon: 3 VP / days delayed if the PCs 
• Afternoon: 2 VP / days delayed if a sizeable chunk of the army can cross.
• Mid-Evening: 1 VP / days delayed if a sizeable chunk of the siege equipment can cross.
• Evening/Night: 0 VP / days delayed if most/all of the siege equipment can cross.

Gathering Allies

Part of the reasons the PCs are late is that they sidetrekked to make friends with Old Warklegnaw! He agreed to help them smash the bridge, a task that would be difficult for the puny adventurers! (It will still be difficult for him unless the PCs can identify the weak spot). As a tradeofff, because the PCs are cutting it so close time-wise, it will be harder for the Giants to delay the Red Hand! The PCs will earn one fewer VP from the Giants than they did from the Bridge, and delay the Hand for that many additional days, since the longer the Hand is delayed the more time the Giants will have to harass them.

Also in the forest are Ser Elysant and their bear companion/mount Arttu! The PCs haven't had particularly positive interactions with them, having tried to (unsuccessfully) frighten Arttu off upon first meeting and not giving Ser Elysant the best impression of them. However, the Wood Kineticist in the group made a deep connection to the forest, offering her service in exchange for guidance, and since Ser Elysant is also a protector of the forest, they may come to the party's aid if the need is dire enough. The image of them charging down the Hobgoblins on a bear is really fun!!

We could similarly have Avarthel the druid show up, but I think she's too far away for that to be realistic. (Stat Blocks for all three are in the Witchwood Sandbox doc.)

Unfortunately, Jor is dead (the PCs left him behind when they fled Vraath Keep), their goblin companion Phinnick from The Fall of Plaguestone went ahead of them to deliver the news to Drellin's Ferry, and they don't have the time to grab soldiers from Drellins Ferry, so no other allies will be able to come to the PCs aid.

That's all for now! I'm curious how this will go - my PCs have been pretty timid so far, so I honestly wouldn't be surprised if the opportunity slipped by them and the Bridge is never destroyed. Or maybe they'll find their courage - we will see!