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Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

Pathfinder RPG (1st Edition) Pathfinder RPG (2nd Edition) Starfinder RPG

Rules Index | GM Screen | Player's Guide
Battlecry! / Skirmish Units / Building Skirmish Encounters / 1. Set Objectives

Defend

Source Battlecry! pg. 164
The PCs must defend a place, people, or valuable asset against enemy forces. To keep a skirmish that features a defend objective from being a battle that carries on until an entire side is defeated, you can use a timer—the PCs need to defend for 3 rounds, for example. It’s also wise to define what counts as failing to defend the objective. Some examples could entail:
  • The PCs must protect a refugee caravan. They meet their objective if they defend the caravan for 3 rounds but lose it if the raiders destroy three or more wagons.
  • Fiends are attacking a holy site, and the PCs must keep them from desecrating it. Allied clerics can seal one of four doorways each round, and the PCs can choose the order in which they do it. If all four doors are sealed, the site is safe and the objective met!
  • Enemy troops are trying to reach a teleportation portal to join a siege of a major city. The PCs must block a narrow mountain pass to delay them until the portal has closed. Blocking any of the enemy troops is a partial success toward the objective, but the more they stop, the safer the city will be.