Friday Encounter: The Lost Boys

Hook

This encounter is a simple one, but one designed to place the PCs in the forefront of a moral dilemma where there's no easy answer and see what solutions they come up with. It can be used along a road (preferably a remote one away from civilization) or in the wilderness.

For this encounter to work best, the DM should foreshadow it with rumors planted in advance. Some time before this encounter, the PCs should receive word of a ferocious band of brigands preying on travelers along this route - perhaps hearing the story in a town along the way, or seeing a wanted notice posted at a crossroads. Importantly, it should be made clear that no one has ever gotten a good look at the bandits, and they don't know what their faces look like or how many there are. All that's known is that they are ruthless fighters and will take no prisoners.

When the PCs run into the bandits, they will announce their intentions by having four of their number hiding in the bushes and firing arrows in the party's direction in an ambush. Roll Stealth against the PCs' passive Perception to see if the bandits are noticed; they have Advantage on their Stealth roll due to being concealed in the underbrush. If the bandits aren't noticed, they get a surprise round.

After this round, the leader of the bandits steps out to accost the PCs...and there, they will see that these bandits are led by a young boy of about ten named Cian, carrying a sword that seems too big for him, but nonetheless conducting himself with the seriousness of a hardened criminal, demanding that the party turn over any valuables if they want to get out alive - or, as he puts it in a gravely serious voice, his men will see fit they pay with their blood.

In fact, all the bandits are children, ranging from four to twelve. Cian was the survivor of a raid by bandits that killed his parents and burned his village, but he was able to hide and escape detection. This event taught him a harsh lesson - that one may only survive by virtue of strength, cunning, and ruthlessness, and that the law of the land does nothing to stop those strong enough to not fear it. He decided that he would become a bandit just as ruthless as those who laid waste to his home, and that he would never be weak again. To that effect, he recruited other children orphaned by the raid, their strength later bolstered by wayward orphans and runaways, teaching themselves to fight, rob, and survive in the wilds. Now, they have formed a gang that preys on travelers to survive, and despite their youth, they've managed to carry on well enough for themselves.

The children will stand with their weapons drawn, carefully eyeing the party while Cian makes his demands. However, if the PCs won't hand over their valuables or seem hostile, Cian gives the order to attack, which will see four of the children staying in the bushes to fire arrows on the PCs while the rest of the gang rushes them in melee. Cian will make it readily clear that he isn't bluffing during any such negotiations, brandishing his sword and proudly boasting that he has killed a dozen men (this is, of course, exaggerated, but he has killed two, and others in the gang have blood on their hands as well). The children show no signs of hesitation either; they are swayed by Cian's charisma and believe his might-makes-right philosophy wholeheartedly in the absence of any better role models.

There are in total twelve children in the ambush, including Cian. All of them have the stats of bandits, but are Small size, have 6 HP each, and have Disadvantage on their attack rolls, as they are untrained in their weapons and wield them clumsily. Nevertheless, they are fierce fighters - in their naive understanding of the world, they believe themselves to be invincible and overestimate their abilities while underestimating their fragility. After all, they are mighty bandits! As such, if anything happens that would cause the children to rout, they make their morale saves with Advantage.

Obviously, what makes this situation difficult for most PCs will be the moral dilemmas involved. The children have every intention to do them harm, but fighting back means harming children, something many parties will balk at. Perhaps the party will try to talk the children down with reason, or perhaps they'll have to find a non-lethal way of dealing with the problem. Either way, it should make most PCs think twice about going headlong into combat, and encourage them to think outside the box - as long as you aren't playing with murderhobos, anyway. And if you are, I pity you.