The Tarak D&D Campaign - Finishing off the Brigands

Welcome to the next post in a series where I describe the adventures during a 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons campaign I ran a little while ago.

Last time around our players were on the road to Filrath, hoping to draw the forest brigands out so they could finish them once and for all. After a clumsy ambush by the brigands, they set off in hot pursuit of the survivors, hoping to find the brigand camp.

A Second Ambush

The characters were in hot pursuit of the few surviving brigands. But after just a short while, they came across another wagon stranded in the woods. The wheel was off but intact, and the owners had whittled a new wedge to replace the broken one.

They introduce themselves as Robert the merchant, Rhiannor his teenage daughter, and Brother Upfold. Actually, it was the bandit deputy leader Binor, Black the hag (using her Illusory Appearance ability to appear like a young lady), and Brother Upfold.

They begged for help to put the wheel back on, and then asked to tag along with the party (safety in numbers from brigands….)

Of course, they set this up just in case the first ambush failed. Their pleas for help suckered in Morson the Paladin, who was desperate to atone for his previous misdeeds in order to regain his powers. It only took a few moments of conversation for the fleeing bandits to disappear out of sight, so it seemed a no-brainer for the party to team up with these friendly-seeming strangers.

Each group set their own watches. Brother Upfold manipulated things to he got a watch at the same time as Barrow. He proceeded to talk Barrow's hind legs off and then used Charm Person to bring him under control (DC13, with disadvantage due to Mother White's healing potions the party had been using).

Simultaneously, Robert/Binor used a Sleep spell on the others, then used Sleight of Hand (at +5 plus an additional d4 from Brother Upfold casting Guidance tie the sleepers up without waking them. Rhiannor/Black used a needle coated with drow knockout poison on as a final resort, held in readiness in case any of the sleepers awoke, and then used to put them out for the journey back to camp.

Brother Upfold’s spell loadout;
Cantrips – Spare the Dying, Guidance,
1st Level – (4 slots) Charm Person, Disguise Self, Bless, Sanctuary
2nd :Level – (2 slots) Mirror Image, Pass Without Trace
Blessing of the Trickster – 1 hr advantage on stealth – he used this on Binor to give advantage while removing the party's weapons.

With the party suitably subdued, it’s off to the camp with them ! Not the way they had planned to get there, but that's life...

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The Brigand Camp

Hodagh’s brigands were based at an incredibly well camouflaged camp consisting of tree-houses hidden in old oak trees. There were rope walkways between them (combat is at disadvantage except missile fire), and rope ladders that were normally drawn up.

The camp had a series of well-camouflaged earth banks around it, looking natural but excellent at hiding cooking fires. Between the banks were very nasty hidden punji pits, the stakes smeared with unmentionables (DC12).

Hodagh’s own treehouse was a hollowed out space in the upper trunk of a huge oak. The party were placed in suspended cages – wooden, but stout and well made. Their kit was stashed in a nearby “jail admin” treehouse – 1 bandit and 1 scout were inside playing knucklebones.

In total, there were 5 cages; 4 for the party and 1 other having a young girl in (Torsta, about 15 years old, kidnapped from near Delholm in Filrath).

Image created by AI in NightCafe Studio

Battle In The Camp

The party's first instinct when they woke up and realised their situation was, of course, to try to free themselves. But the cages were designed to be secure, and this proved to be no easy feat.

It was Scarlet the Bard who solved the problem for them. Mustering all the persuasion she could, she tried to get the brigand guarding the cages to bring a drink of water to herself and Roland, who she shared a cage with. She rolled a natural 20 !

So eager was the brigand to help out that he didn't spot Roland the Ranger reaching out to grab him. Pulled close, he was swiftly murdered and his weapons taken. Having a sword made it much easier to open the cage.

This was the point where the alarm was raised. Sleepy brigands started to appear to foil the escape attempt. Roland, armed with the sword, was able to gain the rope bridge and hold them off while Scarlet used the dagger to open the other cages.

Unarmed and unarmoured, the characters raced for the tree holding their gear. Coming the other way was a group of brigands trying to cut them off, and they knew they had to be quick. With no armour, Roland was relying on his dexterity, good position and luck to fend off brigands. But arrows were starting to come his way, and the damage was starting to mount up.

Luckily the party reached the treehouse holding their equipment first, at which point the hunters became the hunted as vengeful party members grabbed their weapons and turned on their attackers. They didn't all have time to don armour, but they had shields, swords and bows. Just as importantly the spellcasters retrieved holy symbols and component pouches.

From this point on, the battle was short and brutal. Ordinary brigands were no match for fully armed adventurers. The characters soon recognised this and focused their efforts on wiping out archers and leaders, keeping the fight moving fast to avoid getting pinned down.

They made extensive use of fire (both magical and mundane), trapping Hodagh in his treehouse as it burned around him. Binor was cut down by Morson in a savage attack that involved a healthy number of critical hits. Brother Upfold attempted to surrender, but was hacked down without mercy by Roland.

The only survivor was Black, who saw which way the wind was blowing and used her Invisible Passage ability to fade out of sight and move a safe distance away. Then it was an easy matter to transform into a magpie, fly off to re-join her sisters, and start cooking up their next plan.

After all, to the Magpie Sisters, the brigands were nothing but useful fools and tools anyway....

Next time..... arrival in Filrath....

Previous posts in this series;
The Tarak D&D Campaign - Setting Part 1
The Tarak D&D Campaign - Setting Part 2
The Tarak D&D Campaign - Setting Part 3
The Tarak D&D Campaign - Player Creation and Briefing
The Tarak D&D Campaign - Arrival At Tuadun
The Tarak D&D Campaign - Mayor Gerd's Problems
The Tarak D&D Campaign - Saving Shepherd Mirag
The Tarak D&D Campaign - Mother White and Sister Raben
The Tarak D&D Campaign - The First Venture Into the Heimial Forest
The Tarak D&D Campaign - An Unpleasant Encounter
The Tarak D&D Campaign - Back to the Woods, and an Important Discovery
The Tarak D&D Campaign - Back Into The Bad Woods
The Tarak D&D Campaign - The Hags' Lair
The Tarak D&D Campaign - Tuadun Attacked !