The party learned this lesson the hard way in the first cave fight: whoever holds the chokepoint holds the advantage. The goblins and ogres in the next room have the elevated position. This option says: don't go to them. Make them come to you.
The Concept
The cave entrance is a bottleneck. It was the party's defensive position last session, and it's still a bottleneck now. Instead of pushing into a room full of elevated archers and ogres, the party opens with ranged fire from the threshold — visible but not fully committed — provoking a response. When enemies charge to close the distance, they funnel through the cave entrance one or two at a time, directly into the party's strongest defensive setup.
This approach sacrifices the tactical elegance of the Fog Cloud plan for something more fundamental: you fight the battle at the cave mouth, not in an open room designed to disadvantage you.
Setup — Before Initiative
Elaris hands out Bardic Inspiration — Kaltor and Theren. Before initiative. Not inside combat.
Barzer positions the bat for intelligence — Not to cast Fog Cloud, but to observe. See through the bat's eyes, call out which enemies move toward the entrance and which hold back.
No concentration spells pre-combat — This option keeps everyone's concentration free for round one, allowing maximum flexibility in how they respond.
Marching order at the threshold: Kaltor just inside the doorway (or just outside it), the party ranged behind him. The door is the wall.
Opening Fire — Before Initiative If Possible
If the party can see enemies from the entrance without triggering initiative, open with a round of free attacks before the goblins act:
- Theren: Longbow from range. Hunter's Mark on the nearest ogre as a bonus action, then fire. A longbow hit plus Hunter's Mark (1d8 + 1d6 + DEX mod) at range, before the enemies have acted, is free damage.
- Barzer: Fire Bolt (cantrip, no spell slots spent) at the nearest goblin. One dead or hurt goblin before the fight starts is meaningful — a goblin at 5 HP can still attack, but it won't survive round one.
- Elaris: Vicious Mockery if anything is in range.
The goal is to provoke a response. Hurt enemies will move toward the party. Hurt goblins especially, since their morale is fragile and moving toward a perceived threat is an instinctive reaction.
When They Charge
Enemies that take damage and can see the party will advance. When they do, they funnel through the cave entrance.
Kaltor takes the doorway.
One or two enemies can reach him per round, not the whole room at once. The chokepoint that protected the party at the cave entrance in session one works exactly the same here.
| Round | Kaltor | Theren | Barzer | Nysera | Elaris | Selena |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hold threshold, melee incoming | Hunter's Mark → ogre, fire | Magic Missile → ogre already marked | Moonbeam on ogre cluster | Bardic Inspiration (already done) → Vicious Mockery | Sacred Flame, ready Healing Word |
| 2 | Divine Smite if ogre closes | Colossus Slayer applies (ogre already hit) | Shield reaction if threatened | Move Moonbeam to second ogre | Hideous Laughter on ogre 2 if ogre 1 is still standing | Healing Word if Kaltor drops |
| 3+ | Fight continues through the bottleneck | Shift Hunter's Mark as enemies die | Mirror Image if Barzer is getting targeted | Wild Shape if Moonbeam is dropped | Support and spot heal | Manage party HP |
Handling the Ledge Goblins
The elevated archers are the complication. When the fight is at the cave entrance, not in the room, the ledge goblins may not have a clear shot — their elevation advantage only matters inside the chamber where they can see the battlefield below them.
At the cave mouth, from their ledge, their line of sight depends on the geometry Reece describes. Ask the DM: "From the ledge, can the archers see targets at the cave entrance?" If no, they effectively don't exist during the drawn-out phase. If yes, Barzer can drop Fog Cloud on the bat at ledge height as soon as they start firing — the gambit and the draw-out aren't mutually exclusive.
If the ledge goblins can't see the entrance, you've neutralized their advantage without spending a concentration slot. They will eventually descend or find another approach. When they do, the party is already in formation and waiting.
The Third Ogre
The bat saw two ogres upfront and one deeper. If the drawn-out fight pulls both front ogres toward the entrance, the third ogre may hold back or approach from the deeper section.
Watch the bat's sightline. If Barzer sees the third ogre begin to move during the fight, call it out immediately. The party should know before it arrives whether there's a second wave coming from behind the first two.
Do not commit the whole party into the room until you know where the third ogre is.
Retreating If It Goes Wrong
This option has a natural abort condition built in. If the party is at the cave mouth and the fight is going badly, the party can fall back outside the cave. Open air, no chokepoint on either side, a chance to regroup.
The Fog Cloud plan and the Spike Growth plan both commit the party into the room. This one doesn't, until the party chooses to advance.
Abort criteria: If two party members drop below half HP simultaneously, consider pulling back to the entrance and resetting. The ogres are unlikely to pursue far from the cave.
Pros
- Exploits the same bottleneck advantage the party used in the first cave fight — proven to work
- No concentration spells required in setup — maximum flexibility
- Natural fallback condition if the fight goes badly
- Ranged attacks before initiative means the party may get free damage before any enemy has acted
Cons
- Slower than the Fog Cloud plan — the fight takes more rounds because you're drawing enemies one or two at a time rather than overwhelming their position
- The ledge goblins may still have firing angles depending on cave geometry
- Does not neutralize the elevated archers directly — relies on geometry or a secondary Fog Cloud response
- The third ogre's position becomes more unpredictable if it's deeper and doesn't move toward the entrance
Best If
The party is uncertain about committing to a specific plan upfront and wants to respond to what Reece describes once they're at the threshold — treating the cave entrance as a defensive position first and an assault line second.