Ghan comments that if we draw the 19 inhabitants out of the Caves into the open, they can surround us.
The Caves do have choke-points, so we shouldn’t get trapped within.
“I agree, Ghan – either inside or outside, all of them at once would liklely overwhelm us. Any plan which allows us to only face a portion of them at a time, or remove some from the conflict entirely, is more preferable.”
“Just so,” Thoroncir says.
Gilraen draws information out from the knowledge folks.
The wargs by Ghan’s description would only get a single attack each. A single cone of cold would kill most of the 5 grouped close. The same spell will be of limited use vs. the Trolls and almost no use vs. the Ice Trolls.
Ice Trolls are immune to Cold. All the trolls get at least 2 attacks, so a good place for a slow spell. Watch out for them throwing rocks or iron balls. Good range in a cave with these.
Trolls have outstanding night vision and can’t go into the sunlight.
Ice Trolls don’t have night vision but can handle sunlight. (Also the reason why the caves are fairly well lit with torches.)
Gilraen has a chance to blind a sun-sensitive troll with her bauble.
Entangle has a strength save so fairly useless against trolls.
In 5e Entangle doesn’t require actual plants, it is all magic
Faerie Fire gives advantage to hit and requires a dex save. Most trolls have -1 saves for Dex. So they would need 17s to save.
Even Bitur will have a tough time blasting a ceiling quickly with what he has available. As to magic, we would need spells that are more powerful than we have. Bitur can collapse the caves but not during combat.
If you lure the trolls outside for an ambush attack, the knights should be horsed which removed the guards for the non-combat equines. Also they are probably better at range then the party. This party is mostly up close and personal.
I also have a Web spell, which could be used to block off one avenue of approach.
Good for wargs, not so good for trolls. Fire defeats easily and torches all over the caves. Also trolls are all over 20 strength so it won’t slow them down too long. But might help.
It’s sounding like our best set of tactics are:
- Deal with the monsters inside the caves, rather than out in the open
- Cone of Cold (and maybe Web) against the wargs
- Slow and Faerie Fire against the trolls
Gilraen asks, “Does anyone have some sort of wall spell? That would make a good temporary barrier?”
"I do not have such a spell. My best use will be supporting the main combatants with healing, or aiming damaging cantrips. I do know one spell that could throw the enemies back, but I would need to be surrounded, as the spell is indiscriminate.
"If the trolls are nice enough to be wearing metal armour, I can make them regret that. Alternately I can loft one overhead, as I did with the Worm. If giving one of us flight for a short while would be advantageous, I can do that too.
Note Slow is a Concentration spell-I’d prefer to nuke them with Fireball 1st, but then if they get in melee the Slow might catch some of you up in it.
Gilraen says to Felareth, “I suspect trolls weigh a lot more than 500 pounds. Didn’t you say that was your upper limit?”
"True, it is. That being saud, if a Warg should get through the defences, Icould clear it out of the way. But if that happened, we’d likely have bigger troubles.
“It’s unfortunate that I have not mastered the spells that appeared in my spellbook, a gift from my patron Maiar. A Fireball would damage several creatures at once and render them more susceptible to our armed comrades.”
Gilraen replies, “What about upcasting Command. You could affect 3 trolls and with their low wisdom they need 13s to save. Good chance to get 2 to halt or flee for a round.”
Bitur also has web prepared.
Depending what time it is, Bitur also knows Faerie Fire and Heat Metal, but he’d have to prepare them.
And Spider Climb is also prepared, if Ghan thinks it might be beneficial in some way based on the layout of the cave.
“Or grovel, which would put them flat on their face and make them easier to hit.”
Ghan thanks the party for their help and expands on his earlier suggestion. Naturally the party are most welcome to comment on each step (including :particular spells for that step):
-
If we attack in daylight, some Trolls will be unable to pursue us outside the Cave.
(This pessimistic view is based on advice Ghan once heard "A plan only lasts until contact with the enemy.
) -
Try and get as many of us as close as possible to the Cave mouth without being spotted by the single Guard Wolf.
(Ghan has Pass without Trace for the whole party.)
- The (four?) main fighters go ahead:
- giving cover to spell caster(s) to blat the 5 Wargs
- preparing for any Trolls appearing a couple of rounds later at the choke point at the end of the first Cave chamber. (If they can hit the Guard Warg and any Wargs that make it past the spells on their way past to the chokepoint, fine.)
Meanwhile:
- one or two spellcasters take out the Wargs with area spells (Cone of Cold?) :sunglasses
- the rest of the party take out the Guard Wolf:
If this works 
, we will have a good position:
- six Wargs will be dead
- our Fighters will be blocking the exit from the first chamber leading into the complex
- the spellcasters will be safely behind the Fighters
- the Trolls will only have one way to come at us … through a choke point
Oh, W_E, please let me know if I get 2 new Prescience rolls yet…
Prescience rolls …19 & 13.
Bitur speaks up:
"I think taking the fight to the trolls might not be the best idea. Even with the choke point, that’s a lot of living rock to hew through, and our front line of fighters will be hampering the magic blasters from using their spells. I think if we can take out the wargs and then retreat to outside, we stand a better chance. The rock trolls can’t follow us which will reduce the number of enemies we have to take out for now, and we’ll bring the ice trolls outside to fight on our terms, rather than theirs. Fighting in the caves means we fight on their turf. I think if we prepare for a fight outside of the cave and can lure them out, we even those odds a bit.
If they don’t want to leave the cave. I guess we just skirmish and retreat and slowly wear them down.
Regardless, I think trying to take them all out in one attack on their turf is not a good idea."
“Well that sounds reasonable. Not a lot of fun, but reasonable. What do we do to make sure they follow us out?”