Just to let you know this scenario is beatable.
Part of what may have been different, but played into our ultimate victory, was that our CK described this as a "hot and dry summer".
Now its been about 2 years since we played this, so my memories are very hazy, but I will do my best.
I believe we were all 5th level, we had a druid, Knight, Cleric, Bard, Mage, and Ranger in our group. All standard C&C classes.
We crushed them at the river, largely because the Knight was devastatingly awesome from his horses (He had 3, and that was good because the first, his favorite, was killed). Plus the Ranger was pretty kick butt as well. The Mage had been played very conservative, because we had a clue this was just a skirmish.
However, after the river, we saw how many more were coming, and determined we likely would not win, and pulled back to the village.
We were trying to decide what to do, the Mages Raven familiar was up flying to let us know where the enemy was.
The direction of the wind was brought up, and the CK told us it was blowing towards the advancing horde.
Being the player of the Druid, I asked how badly the weather had been treating the trees, etc...
He described the leaves of the trees as being very wilted looking, due to little rain yet this year, and that all the grasses and other ground cover was very dry looking, etc...
My druid had a sacrilegious idea.
I remembered that the trade caravan we had escorted in had a wagon full of big barrels, full of lamp oil.
I asked how far away the river was, and confirmed which direction it ran in relation to us.
I told the Knight to go and sortie against the on coming creatures and buy us some time. So he, the Ranger, Bard, and a few NPC's mounted up and went and sortied, while the rest of us grabbed cups, pots, pans, whatever would work, and filled them with lamp oil and went out into the woods and spread the oil around as much as we could.
I was using the mage and his familiar to keep me apprised of how the Knight was doing.
I told the Mage when to call back the Knight and told the village folk to ready burning arrows. The CK started to look at me squinty eyed. Then I started casting spells. I believe the first was "Control Weather", whatever spell it was it was on a scroll and would allow me to cast "Call Lightning" which I had prayed for. Most importantly to me as a Druid, it would also bring rain, lots of it. So I made my check to cast the scroll successfully and I remember making it with room to spare on my roll, which was good because the TN was around a 20. So the weather was coming.
I was given the status of the Knight and his men and heard they were doing surprisingly good holding them at the river. In fact they had killed enough that the horde had retreated to regroup. I think this is when I was told that the Knight had lost his favorite horse, though.
I was tied to my location because the casting times of the spells were pretty long, 10 minutes each, I think. I know Call Lightning takes that long, and I am pretty sure the spell I cast off the scroll was as long.
The Mage knew what I was doing, so asked the CK how long it would take for the horde to now reach us. The CK responded it would take 10 to 15 minutes, if they moved normally.
So the Mage then had his familiar fly down and land on the neck of the Knights horse, our signal for him to withdraw.
(BTW, the battle at the river was awesome, we were even thinking if we kept rolling so well we could actually win).
So then we waited, while I kept casting with my Druid. The weather worsened, and rain started to fall. The CK said I had control over how much in rained, etc.. so I kept it at a lite drizzle, to keep the lamp oil usable. Meanwhile I was also casting my Call Lightning, and minutes before I was done the horde arrived, which was fine, I hoped. I wasn't planning on using the Lightning during the attack.
The knight, freshly healed up by the Cleric, said he was going to fight outside the walls, in the cleared "kill zone" as we call it. This is the area you clear outside of walls to have clear fields of fire for your missile weapons, etc...
Anyways I thought the Knight was even crazier than he had already been, because if I remember correctly the horde had Ogres and a few Hill Giants in it as well, and the boulders they threw is what had killed his favorite horse at the river.
When I pointed this out the Knights player said that is why he was doing it, the longer he drew the fire of the giant types, the longer the walls would hold. Plus he would attempt to disrupt anything else they do to get over the walls.
So out he went.
We fought, until we were sure most of the horde were within the areas soaked with lamp oil. Then we lit it.
the CK made some rolls, and then all hades broke out! Apparently the dried grasses and ground debris still went up like perfect tinder. The horde started screaming as many of them burned, many of the lesser types dying pretty much immediately.
The CK made more rolls, and determined that this broke the resolve of the horde and they were scattering to the flanks of the field to get away from the fire.
They were routed!
I kept casting, I was pretty sure I still wanted my Call Lightning.
So the CK determined what was happening with his horde, who was hurt, who was killed, and where they went.
Then I was done also casting the Call Lightning, and the CK told me the forest was engulfed in flames between here and the river, but the wind direction had it going to the river.
So at this time I drank a potion of Flying I had and took to the air. See, the CK and our group had determined that the Call Lighting spell was centered on me, so moved with me, and I could strike anything I saw out to 450 feet.
I went to the river. Sure enough the horde was regrouping. I wanted to put the forest fire out, ASAP. This is why I had the Call Lightning. I took cover in some nearby tree tops, and asked the CK if I could determine who was the leader, or leaders. Who was keeping the horde from staying routed. He told me who it was. I centered the first bolt on the leader. I rolled, I got NOTHING below a 5 on my damage dice and 2 of them were 10's.
The CK then rolled the saves for the creatures in my area of effect. The CK was not happy. Apparently between the damage they took from getting away from the fire, combined with my good rolls, combined with apparently some very crappy rolls on his part, I killed every creature in the area of effect!
So the CK made another roll, essentially a morale check, and he rolled a "1"! A total route!
We won the day and the war!
So it is possible to win. You just have to have an awesome Knight, Ranger, and druid willing to risk being a Druid, to win the day.
BTW, when asked how I as a druid justified burning the forest, I said, "It was time for a controlled burn."
Which it was, after the Horde was routed, I fully unleashed the rain of the spell, and the CK determined I put out the fires with it. I then went around and inspected the trees, and the CK determined some of them likely would die. So we stayed a few extra days and I cast Growth on them to give them what essentially amounted to magical healing for plants.
My Druid still had to stay away, because even though my God apparently agreed with my actions, the local Druids did not. Other than that, we were heroes.
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The Ruby Lord, Earl of the Society
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