Final preparations in Phandalin

Before the dawn

Image by Jorge Jacinto courtesy of Paizo

[5 min read]

It is the 16th of Eleasias just before dawn. 

A day ago word from Butterskull Ranch got back to Phandalin that the army was close, and that the attack would likely come today.

You sleep fitfully, and rise well before dawn to get the latest intelligence reports from the scouts who were tracking the army as they broke off into groups to surround the town.

As you wait for these brave trackers to report, you think of all that has happened in the past four tendays that has brought you to this moment...

The road to battle

Phandalin's Finest, the Hammer (and soon to be Champions) of the Lord's Alliance have secured many a victory or asset to build out the defences of Phandalin, including:

• Liberating the Forge of Spells, yielding magic weapons and armour for the defenders
• Bringing back schematics for auto crossbows and ballistae from Gnomengarde, which were subsequently built and installed
• Procuring lumber and sandbags from the logger's camp and Neverwinter, which has supplied the building of gates and palisades around the whole town
• Deposing all three of Cryovain's lieutenants and scattering their followers, the powerful half-orc Anchorites of Talos, cutting off magical support to the army
• Recovering the Dragon Slayer longsword, a relic of heroes past that will help in a showdown with Cryovain
• Convincing the war chiefs at the Barrow and the Butterskull Ranch not to join the fight, reducing the Many Arrows orc presence
• Rooting out the orc assassins and preventing deaths of the key leaders at Phandalin
• Eliminating the gargantuan scyza, preventing one way of breaking down the walls and also removing a mobile artillery platform
• Retaking Butterskull Ranch, to bring supplies home and buoy the defenders, while gaining valuable early warning of the impending attack
• The net result of forcing Cryovain into a direct assault, the dragon needing to coordinate from the front lines, exposing him to danger

Worth fighting for

Your mind is then cast to the plucky and resilient peoples of Phandalin, when given the option to flee to Neverwinter, the vast majority have volunteered to stay and help in any way they can.

You picture their recent grim faces as they go about their preparations resolutely, but your mind then wanders to happier times, when you saved them from the Redbrand Ruffians and went from strangers to heroes. Their looks of adoration remind you of the enormous responsibility you now carry, given your elevated positions of authority.

In their natural habitat - the personalities of Phandalin
Images (mostly) by Wizards of the Coast

A makeshift militia

Then the happy remembrances fade as you snap back to the task at hand. You do a mental inventory of the defenders - everyone left in Phandalin has a role to play, combatants and non-combatants alike:

• 2x main forces with 5x Lord's Alliance men-at-arms and 10x local militia, each with a leader wielding magical weapons and armour
• 10x barbarian berserkers, led by Ragnar with his newly gifted flametongue greataxe
• 3x scouts, with the clockwork sorcerer gnome Zanzibar gathering intelligence
• 2x auto crossbows peeking out of horizontal arrow slits in the north and south gates, aimed by gunner milita
• 3x ballistae aimed by men-at-arms at elevated positions near Tresendar Manor
• 25x able-bodied non-combatants in town to run messages between troops, and make repairs as needed
• 25x children and aged non-combatants holed up beneath Tresendar manor, ready to flee the secret tunnel if need be to get back to Neverwinter and warn Sildar's contacts
• Lindsay de Mowbray, Captain of the Guard, overseeing the men-at-arms and militia
• Harbin Wester, Townmaster, overseeing the non-combatants from the town square
• Sildar Hallwinter, representative of the Lord's Alliance, overseeing the ballistae and providing counsel from his vantage point in the manor
• And you, Phandalin's Finest, with a full complement of skills, spells and restoratives (including 2x Falcon's Vintage)

The total combined military might of the defenders is around 50 (excluding the party), and the total population of the town around 100.

Early warning

You are startled from your reverie by Sildar, his worn face showing fatigue but also the kind of nervous excitement you find in soldiers before a battle, belying his years of experience.

"The scouts are back. They have an inventory of the forces arrayed against us. Here, look at this map they've drawn". His tone is direct and efficient. "Our advance notice has furnished us the time for one pre-emptive strike before dawn - let us choose carefully."

Orcs, ogres, giants and siege weapons are spread out around the plain, with Cryovain circling above
Images (mostly) by Wizards of the Coast

Opposition forces

The scouts arrive to brief you, having had a quick moment to gather themselves after working through the night, their grim faces and hushed tones underlining the size of the task. The enemies outnumber the armed defenders between three and four times. "They have surrounded us in four troops plus the dragon, here's what we know":

1. Scores of orcs, the largest Many Arrows force, under the command of a new tribe leader, amassing near the south gate with ogres and a heavy battering ram
2. Orc archers protecting a catapult being pulled by a hill giant! Ogres supporting them, at least one with a ballista, led by a war chief near the woods north east of town
3. A second siege troop, similar to the other, gathering near the hill upon which Tresendar Manor is perched
4. A small group of ettins, haphazardly arranged outside the south wood - they may not be full giants, but are big enough to damage the palisades
5. The dragon, Cryovain, circling overhead and landing periodically to have a word to the troop leaders 

Sortie

"So, where should we strike?" asks Sildar. "And whom do you want by your side? I'll give you a few moments to contemplate, but dawn draws near, our advantage is fleeting".

You step out into the cool morning air, surveying the many shadows and firelights dotting the horizon on all sides. How and where would the Hammer best be employed?