Kristen put a piece of bone in between Claudia's bowl gateposts.<strong>"Yeah, if we can jam one of the gate doors closed to funnel them in one by one, I can hold them at the gate. The rest of you should be safe if you stay up on the watchtowers,"</strong>she said, with just the faintest hint of plausibly deniable condescension.<br/><br/><strong>"I can brew up some special alchemist's fire that will ignite the grease spell you put on the ground,"</strong>Lisa added.<br/><br/>The rest of the day was spent making preparations, Kristen barricading one half of the gate to create a choke point in the other half, Lisa brewing her concoction, and Jhod helping to camouflage their positions so the bandits wouldn't see them until it was too late.<br/><br/><hr/><br/>The next day, the bandits showed up just as predicted, four of them, mounted - not on warhorses or draft animals, but on nimble sure-footed steeds suitable for these trackless lands. They looked like adept woodsmen, with dark green cloaks that would blend well with the vegetation were they trying to keep out of sight, each bearing bow and blade able to handle any danger the wilds might throw at them.<br/><br/>Fortunately, they rode in like they owned their place, hitching their horses to a tree outside the trading post and swaggering up to the gates.<strong>"Oi, we're here, old man!"</strong>Their leader, a man a head shorter than the rest and compensating what he lacked in height with bad attitude, called out.<strong>"You know the drill by now... and get that damn gate fixed!"</strong><br/><br/>The party was hidden at their posts - Kristen behind the gates, Lisa and Jhod on the watchtowers - ready to spring into action!<br/><br/><hr/><br/><em>Make a stealth check (with a +2 bonus from Jhod helping out). On a result of 5-9, 1 person gets a surprise round, 10-14 - 2 people, 15 - 19 - 3 people, 20+ - all 4 party members get a surprise round. You get to choose who.<br/><br/>Then roll initiative for post-surprise-round turn order, on a result of 5-9, 1 person acts beofre the bad guys' turn, 10-14 - 2 people, 15 - 19 - 3 people, 20+ - all 4 party members go first.</em>