The Siege of Fort Leon – A Tabletop RPG Encounter

The ‘Siege of Fort Leon’ is an encounter idea for any Tabletop RPG like Dungeons and Dragons or Pathfinder. In this article, we’ll go through the outline of the encounter, the setting and figures involved, and, of course, the models you can use to represent the setting and figures.

Far to the West lay Fort Leon, a small bastion of defence against the wild hordes of those desolate rocky plains. The Fort itself was a ring of towers and keeps with sturdy walls and a heavily fortified gate. King Leon himself had long since passed away, but the Fort was stewarded by the brash, militaristic Captain Braun. Under his watch, the fort had never fallen into enemy hands, but at a great cost. His appetite for war and lack of empathy for his soldiers’ lives meant victories always took a toll. But rumours were spreading of a great warlord of the West, uniting the tribes under his banner. Could he hold the fort against a combined force of the barbarians of the Western Plains?

A request for aid from a monk at Fort Leon will cross the path of the adventuring party. The missive declares the Captain is unfit to lead Fort Leon against the invaders and is requesting help from any brave heroes willing to travel and defend the Fort and its people. A promise of payment in the form of gold and a religious relic of power will surely entice them.

Travelling to Fort Leon is a long journey to the West over rocky plains. 3 days on foot, or 2 via a carriage, as the rocky landscape prevents carriages from swift travel, and breaks are frequent. Along the way, several minor encounters can be met. Here is a random table for encounters you could expect.

1. The party encounters an ambush in a rocky ravine by some bandits along the road. A survivor will have information about the Warlord of the West.
2. The party finds a lone traveller journeying to Fort Leon. They know a shortcut, but it will take them through a canyon infested with spiders, not that the traveller will tell them this.
3. Wolves attack the party on the road. Their bites leave a lasting pain and a certain yearning for the moon.
4. The party finds a caravan that’s been torched and looted. An investigation reveals a survivor clutching a map to Fort Leon and safe passage to get there. But they are very skittish toward strangers now.
5. The party happens upon a group of Fort Leon deserters. They weren’t willing to go along with the captain’s suicide plans but could be persuaded to join if the tactics are right, or they could be inclined ot keep their desertion a secret.
6. A bridge over a fast-flowing river has collapsed. It could be repaired with some time and resources, or a new route found. But something big nearby must have destroyed it.
7. The party finds a small battlefield, littered with bodies and exotic-looking weapons and armour. Lingering too long reveals the dead aren’t as dead as they thought.
8. The party finds a dying messenger in rags and furs. They are looking for members of the Warlord of the West to deliver some vital intel to them.
9. The weather begins to turn very sour, and winds pick up, and eventually, rain and sleet fall on the party. There is a cave nearby, but they might not be the only ones seeking shelter in the storm.
10. The party discovers a small cache of supplies meant for the Captain of Fort Leon. Whatever happened to the couriers is a mystery, but what’s the worst that could happen by taking them with you?

The approach to Fort Leon reveals a castle built on a rocky rise with steps leading up to a well-fortified gate. Towers and turrets surround the castle walls, with guards dotted along its battlements. Currently, no danger presents itself in the form of an invading barbarian army. Here is a top-down render of Fort Leon for building the castle from our Throne & Ash models:

You’ll need the following models to build Fort Leon:

• Round Keep and adaptors
• 60-degree wall turret
• 180-degree wall turret
• 120-degree oval bastion
• Banquet Hall
• Gatehouse
• Hex tower
• 3x 120-degree castle walls
• 2x 180-degree castle walls
• Chapel (for the monk)

Having destroyed versions for each of the buildings and walls can really add to the flavour of the siege, too, as swapping in the ruined versions can be a great storytelling tool. For example, the giants might smash through, and now the party needs to patch the hole or fight the invaders there.

The party can approach the gates and say they are there to help defend the Fort against the barbarians at the call of the monk, or gain entry however they choose. Pawel, the monk, will greet the party at his chapel and offer guidance and healing. The Captain can be found in the Round Keep, poring over battle plans for the defence of Fort Leon.

Other character ideas to bring into the encounter are:

• The prison guards are keeping an invader captive who may have information.
• The sickly Prince Lionel, who can’t leave his bed, but may have things for the party to use.
• The castle quartermaster may have useful tools for defending the Fort like a ballista.
• The gatekeeper who has an odd accent compared to the rest of Fort Leon.
• A young child who knows a few secret ways in and out of Fort Leon through some rocky paths underneath.
• The castle’s mason guild, who are working to reinforce parts of the castle, may need some help.

The day after the party’s arrival reveals hundreds of smokestacks rising on the horizon. The invaders are nearing the Fort. The party will have one day to prepare everything they can for the coming siege. That night, they hear chanting and drums from outside the Fort as the invaders prepare for their attack in the morning.

To make the siege an encounter that can be digested by the party, here is a breakdown of events that can be tackled by the party with the aid of the guards in each encounter.

Repelling the wall attacks

Day one, the invaders are clambering over the walls on ladders, and a fierce battle is ensuing on the battlements. The party will need to fight off three waves of barbarians. The first wave begins with three ladders on the Fort Walls from all directions and 2-5 barbarians at each ladder, depending on party level. 5-10 guards aid the party on the walls. Every round, a new ladder appears with more barbarians. The party can topple the ladders using an action and a strength check, for example, or destroy them with a sufficiently strong attack.

The encounter lasts 12 rounds and is won if there are three or fewer ladders at the end. If there are four or more ladders at the end of the encounter, the party has lost the walls, and any surviving guards are lost too, and can’t help in the next encounter.

Defend the gate

In the afternoon of day one, the barbarians will bring two battering rams to the gatehouse and a siege tower. Any surviving guards can help in this attack, as well as four more gatehouse defenders. The battering ram needs to make three successful attacks on the portcullis to break through. If the battering ram breaks through, the party fails this encounter, and the invaders enter the courtyard, further reducing the number of guards to help them in future encounters. The battering rams can be brought down with enough fire damage. Flaming arrows are available in the gatehouse. The siege tower will dump 4 barbarians each round to assault the gatehouse. The siege tower can also be brought down with enough fire.

The party wins if both battering rams are destroyed before it can break the portcullis. We have STL models for battering rams and siege towers here.

Stop the giants

The party can have a long rest as the invaders retreat for the day. On day two, three giants will attack the walls, and all three must be defeated for the party to win the encounter. All surviving guards can aid them in this fight, as well as 6 crossbowmen on the walls. The giants may attack a wall or anyone standing on a wall, and three successful attacks on a wall section will reduce it to rubble, and the party will fail, reducing the guards even further. There is a ballista in the round keep battlement that can be used to take the giants down, dealing a large amount of damage on each hit. If the party aided the quartermaster, then there will be two ballistae to use. We have a ballista STL model you can use here.

Krawald, Samson, and Jub Jub make for the perfect models to use in this encounter. Here are some stats we prepared for them for use in tabletop games: Krawald and Samson & Jub Jub.

Save the peasants

Captain Braun will play his hand, using the peasants as bait to lure the Warlord of the West into a trap. The banquet hall will be where Captain Braun hides a large number of women and children, but will secretly leave an access into the hall for the invaders to find. The Warlord couldn’t resist this exposed weakness and a chance of some good pillage. The party can choose to accept this and allow the peasants to die, and let the warlord into the castle, for the Captain to trap the Warlord. Or they can fight back the invaders in the hall and seal the opening. 12 barbarians will enter the hall. If they let the peasants die, the Captain’s plan works, and the Warlord is trapped inside the walls with just a handful of men, but the guards die to achieve this. Or they can repel the invaders in the hall, so the warlord must find another way into the castle, but the people survive.

Final showdown

On the evening of the second day, the party will confront the Warlord. This happens depending on how previous encounters have gone down. If the party allowed the captain to sacrifice all of his men to capture the warlord, then there will be a small showdown of the warlord and 8 henchmen vs the party and Captain Braun with 2 guards. If the party saved the peasants in the hall, then the Warlord will finally break through the gates along with his remaining army of 30 barbarians and any surviving giants vs the party, monk Pawel, the captain, any surviving guards, 12 more guards and 6 cavalry. This fight to the death takes place in the courtyard of Fort Leon, deciding the fate of the castle.

We have a great selection of castle soldiers and guards for recreating this encounter here. There are halberd-wielding guards, crossbow armed guard, and mounted guards too.

What happens beyond here is entirely up to the DM, whether the castle is saved, the party is pronounced as heroes, or the Warlord defeats them, and they all wake up in chains, or something different entirely. We hope this encounter inspires you to try something epic with your tabletop RPG by combining some storytelling with some epic models and terrain.