Azora- my world needs help! [Archive] - Wizards Community

Azora- my world needs help! [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Chapien
06-16-07, 10:44 AM Hello. Recently, I have started the creation of my own world called Azora. It is rather large, and I have most countries and regions drawn out, but only 4 cities! As of now, I am deciding to add only the largest cities to the map and add others as the PCs visit them. Here is my first problem: the starting town is in a country of mainly Lawful Good people and all are equal. The PCs are in a town called Karm. It is a small town coastal to the largest lake on the continent, Lake Chap. Nearby is the village of Hennet, Karm's partner in many things. Now the problem: There are orcs in the area, but I don't know how to make a good adventure for 1st-level PCs. A little help, please?:confused:
Repirr
06-16-07, 11:32 AM 1. The orcs have set up an ambush point between the two villages to pilfer gold, goods, ect. and have been disrupting local economy. The local government has learned of the ambush point, but they need some strong adventurers to "take care of the problem..."

2. The villages have learned of an impending orc invasion coming in from the (insert direction of orcs here). They also know that one certain orc chieftain is to blame for this uprising. If only that certain orc was dead...

3. The people of Karm learn that Hennet has been ransacked by orcs when several refugees come into town. The town is now a "base" of sorts being used by the orcs. Karm needs to open trade back up with Hennet, or dire consequences to the economy will arise. So, who's up for a little payback...

Hope that helped any!
Rominova
06-16-07, 11:43 AM Orcs belive that to servive, they must conquer as much territory as possible. They are constatly warring with or preparing to war with, other humanoids, including other orcs.

So maybe, a gang of Orcs keeps raiding/attacking anybody that doesn't look like too much of a threat traveling between Hennet and Karm at night or vica versa.

If the players decide to go and travel between the two cities at night to investigate maybe
1) They get ambushed by orcs while travaling, simple enough.
2) They witness the result of a victorious raid on a wagon in the distance, giving them the element of surprise should they so choose.
3) They find out (one way or another) that a trader is planning on taking some goods to Hennet by wagon tonight, fearing that he/she might be the next person attacked, she/he is offering the party a reward if they accompany him/her to Hannet and back. Of corse they have to fend off Orcs, either on the way there or back. Keeping the goods from being damaged and/or stolen, and the trader from being killed.

EDIT: I know these are variations of the same idea, this is under the assumption that Orcs are not a major threat to your cities, and that you only wanted to throw your party against some Orcs. Repirr has some good ideas if you think everyone might enjoy a more protracted "war" against the Orcs.
Ebonarc
06-16-07, 11:58 AM The orcs are using an abandoned mine between the two towns as a staging area for raids against merchants traveling between the towns.

A wealthy merchant just lost one of his caravans in the attack. The cargo can be replaced, but there is a problem: The caravan was also carrying an object of great personal value to him. This could be a magic item or some kind, but it would probably be an art object. Probably a locket or jewelry with some sentimental value.

The merchant wants the PCs to get the item back, and is willing to pay them to do so.
Kobold Paladin
06-16-07, 05:06 PM I say avoid the Orcs for now, one Orc could Kill half a level 1 party 50% of the time.

Have the PCs explore a Tidal cave along the lake shore that rumored to hold some hidden treasure. Have some weak monsters like a Dark Mantle or two and a bat swarm. Have some water hazards in there and some tight spaces.

Have the average treasure for a level 3 encounter at the end of the mission.
Ebonarc
06-16-07, 05:15 PM I say avoid the Orcs for now, one Orc could Kill half a level 1 party 50% of the time.
Good point.

Have the PCs explore a ruin of some kind. It could be a cave, like Kobold Paladin mentioned, or it could be a formerly occupied structure that has fallen into disuse.

I am currently working on an adventure in which the PCs will explore a tower that once belonged to a low-level wizard. There are no intelligent monsters, no traps, no villain. Those three things are some of the main reasons that there are so many more first level characters than second level, so you may want to avoid using those in an adventure.
Shiftkitty
06-16-07, 05:23 PM To throw in some foreshadowing, let the delvers find evidence that the bad guys, whatever they may be, have been making sacrifices to something that lives in the lake, something that has more than a little to do with a strange fog that forms over one bank and is often seen with strange bobbing lights in it.
High Octane
06-16-07, 06:10 PM The orc has a pie. You want pie.
DrMorganes
06-16-07, 06:34 PM The orc has a pie. You want pie.

Well that's a given. Everybody wants pie. ;)

Don't worry that the world seems small right now. It should. Level 1 isn't the time for gallavanting about the known continents. It's dangerous out there, after all. Give your PCs a chance to level up a few times, and slowly expand the world as they're ready. This makes for an organic growth of your campaign. It also allows you to work on things like cities and long-term plot lines as you're able.

So keep it close to home for now. The cave exploration is a good idea. What else is going on in Karm and Hennet? A SMALL band of goblins (3) or kobolds (3 or 4) can replace the orc ambush point. Heck, you can reduce the number of kobolds to 2, have 'em lay a few traps, and keep the encounter's CR about the same.

Don't overlook the importance of non-combat encounters, too. Playing diplomat between two respected - and feuding - members of the community is a decent Level 1 encounter that has long-range plot hook potential, and almost 0% chance of PC death ;)
RedRory
06-16-07, 06:34 PM The mayor of one of the towns strikes a deal with the orc shaman/chief. He will provide valuable intelligence concerning a weak point in the other town's defenses. In exchange his town is to be spared by the orcs (whether the chief has any interest in honouring the pact is up to you). The PCs catch wind of suspicious activity from the mayor and have to unearth the conspiracy and stop the plans from getting into the orc chief's hand.
Radiant117
06-16-07, 09:18 PM A variation on the previous posts:
Some lawful evil guy wants to dominate the region with his military forces on a legal basis. To that end, he's provided the orcs with enough assistance so they would conquer Hennet, then he's planning to come around and save the day. One not-very-original motivation: he was disillusioned by good somehow and thinks that the benefits of having a LE government (with himself as its head) are worth sacrificing a mere village (he might even warn the villagers beforehand in order to prevent heavy losses, so the players would wonder how he knew when given enough hints). The aforementioned assistance might include lending the orcs a PC-class underling to act as a spy and an intermediary between him and the orcs.

Now that orcs on the average are not exactly bright, but their chieftain certainly is, and he has reason not to trust the LE guy, so he's sending messengers to other chieftains asking for their support and offering "pillage rights" in Hennet as payment.

One possible plot hook: the LE guy's been hearing about the orc alliance for a while and realizes the orcs are about to double-cross him, so he sends the PCs to check the rumor and disrupt the alliance. The PCs have to gather enough evidence to ensure the LE guy won't be showing his face in public for a long while.

Suppose there are three tribes in the alliance. Making the first one quit will require some dungeon-exploring (perhaps to steal a valuable orc totem, the loss of which makes them automatically inferior to other tribes, so the alliance is no longer advantageous/honorable) - seriously, a first-level D&D adventure without a mapped dungeon does not feel right; to deal with the second one the PCs will have to defeat a group of orcish champions in ritual combat; and the original chieftain will have a nasty campaign-specific surprise for the party (the surprise can work two ways: either it's something the PCs will recognize on sight and appreciate the cleverness of the design, or it can be "an honest surprise" referring to a later episode of the campaign, so the PCs will be like "Remember that orc chieftain from the first adventure? Now I totally see what all that meant!")

For opponents, I advise mixing humanoids (orcs, in this case) and non-intelligent monsters (each type is creepy in its own way). 1st level is not a launching pad, it's a level in its own right. Be wary of orcs' STR modifier, though, and use only the NPC array for monster stats. Throw in some healing potions. (According to the rules, 2 orcs are a regular encounter for a party of 4 1st level characters, and the folks at Dungeon Magazine thought a 4th level wizard was an okay stand-alone encounter for the same party.) Stand-alone traps are okay; cleverly implemented traps spell T-P-K, so avoid the latter.

Good luck!
Chapien
06-17-07, 04:06 AM These all are great ideas! However, I am about to combine them... how do you like this? A group of 3 goblins have been terrizing the town. The mayer needs someone to stop them. (the PCs.) Well, the PCs infiltrate their lair and find out that the goblins are being led by an orc shaman. The shaman claims that he enslaved the goblins, and that the Red Skull Clan (the orc clan) had defeated the Black Spear Tribe (the goblin tribe) and made them their slaves. This shaman is the overseer of this group. THis leads to later adventures with both goblins and orcs. Also, they might be part of a evil LE cleric's army. For later, this post will remain open for further help on Azora I may need. Also, the LG country is called Chapien.:D
High Octane
06-17-07, 08:58 AM Well that's a given. Everybody wants pie. ;)

But not everybody has pie.

And we have just summed up the cause of pretty much all conflict.
Chapien
06-17-07, 09:30 AM Yes... every one likes pie. Well, what do you think of my idea?:confused:
High Octane
06-17-07, 10:17 AM It works. Small scale is good for low levels and it is open enough to lead into larger things.
Anodai
06-17-07, 12:05 PM Well that's a given. Everybody wants pie.

But not everybody has pie.

And we have just summed up the cause of pretty much all conflict.

Sigged
Chapien
06-21-07, 03:54 PM Well, the adventure is near completion. All EL 1, with an EL 3 at the end. One EL 2 in the middle, with 2 traps involved, 3 goblins, 1 orc shaman, a bat swarm, a spider swarm, a darkmantle, and of course treasue.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Chapien 06-16-07, 10:44 AM	Hello. Recently, I have started the creation of my own world called Azora. It is rather large, and I have most countries and regions drawn out, but only 4 cities! As of now, I am deciding to add only the largest cities to the map and add others as the PCs visit them. Here is my first problem: the starting town is in a country of mainly Lawful Good people and all are equal. The PCs are in a town called Karm. It is a small town coastal to the largest lake on the continent, Lake Chap. Nearby is the village of Hennet, Karm's partner in many things. Now the problem: There are orcs in the area, but I don't know how to make a good adventure for 1st-level PCs. A little help, please?:confused:
Repirr 06-16-07, 11:32 AM	1. The orcs have set up an ambush point between the two villages to pilfer gold, goods, ect. and have been disrupting local economy. The local government has learned of the ambush point, but they need some strong adventurers to "take care of the problem..." 2. The villages have learned of an impending orc invasion coming in from the (insert direction of orcs here). They also know that one certain orc chieftain is to blame for this uprising. If only that certain orc was dead... 3. The people of Karm learn that Hennet has been ransacked by orcs when several refugees come into town. The town is now a "base" of sorts being used by the orcs. Karm needs to open trade back up with Hennet, or dire consequences to the economy will arise. So, who's up for a little payback... Hope that helped any!
Rominova 06-16-07, 11:43 AM	Orcs belive that to servive, they must conquer as much territory as possible. They are constatly warring with or preparing to war with, other humanoids, including other orcs. So maybe, a gang of Orcs keeps raiding/attacking anybody that doesn't look like too much of a threat traveling between Hennet and Karm at night or vica versa. If the players decide to go and travel between the two cities at night to investigate maybe 1) They get ambushed by orcs while travaling, simple enough. 2) They witness the result of a victorious raid on a wagon in the distance, giving them the element of surprise should they so choose. 3) They find out (one way or another) that a trader is planning on taking some goods to Hennet by wagon tonight, fearing that he/she might be the next person attacked, she/he is offering the party a reward if they accompany him/her to Hannet and back. Of corse they have to fend off Orcs, either on the way there or back. Keeping the goods from being damaged and/or stolen, and the trader from being killed. EDIT: I know these are variations of the same idea, this is under the assumption that Orcs are not a major threat to your cities, and that you only wanted to throw your party against some Orcs. Repirr has some good ideas if you think everyone might enjoy a more protracted "war" against the Orcs.
Ebonarc 06-16-07, 11:58 AM	The orcs are using an abandoned mine between the two towns as a staging area for raids against merchants traveling between the towns. A wealthy merchant just lost one of his caravans in the attack. The cargo can be replaced, but there is a problem: The caravan was also carrying an object of great personal value to him. This could be a magic item or some kind, but it would probably be an art object. Probably a locket or jewelry with some sentimental value. The merchant wants the PCs to get the item back, and is willing to pay them to do so.
Kobold Paladin 06-16-07, 05:06 PM	I say avoid the Orcs for now, one Orc could Kill half a level 1 party 50% of the time. Have the PCs explore a Tidal cave along the lake shore that rumored to hold some hidden treasure. Have some weak monsters like a Dark Mantle or two and a bat swarm. Have some water hazards in there and some tight spaces. Have the average treasure for a level 3 encounter at the end of the mission.
Ebonarc 06-16-07, 05:15 PM	I say avoid the Orcs for now, one Orc could Kill half a level 1 party 50% of the time. Good point. Have the PCs explore a ruin of some kind. It could be a cave, like Kobold Paladin mentioned, or it could be a formerly occupied structure that has fallen into disuse. I am currently working on an adventure in which the PCs will explore a tower that once belonged to a low-level wizard. There are no intelligent monsters, no traps, no villain. Those three things are some of the main reasons that there are so many more first level characters than second level, so you may want to avoid using those in an adventure.
Shiftkitty 06-16-07, 05:23 PM	To throw in some foreshadowing, let the delvers find evidence that the bad guys, whatever they may be, have been making sacrifices to something that lives in the lake, something that has more than a little to do with a strange fog that forms over one bank and is often seen with strange bobbing lights in it.
High Octane 06-16-07, 06:10 PM	The orc has a pie. You want pie.
DrMorganes 06-16-07, 06:34 PM	The orc has a pie. You want pie. Well that's a given. Everybody wants pie. ;) Don't worry that the world seems small right now. It should. Level 1 isn't the time for gallavanting about the known continents. It's dangerous out there, after all. Give your PCs a chance to level up a few times, and slowly expand the world as they're ready. This makes for an organic growth of your campaign. It also allows you to work on things like cities and long-term plot lines as you're able. So keep it close to home for now. The cave exploration is a good idea. What else is going on in Karm and Hennet? A SMALL band of goblins (3) or kobolds (3 or 4) can replace the orc ambush point. Heck, you can reduce the number of kobolds to 2, have 'em lay a few traps, and keep the encounter's CR about the same. Don't overlook the importance of non-combat encounters, too. Playing diplomat between two respected - and feuding - members of the community is a decent Level 1 encounter that has long-range plot hook potential, and almost 0% chance of PC death ;)
RedRory 06-16-07, 06:34 PM	The mayor of one of the towns strikes a deal with the orc shaman/chief. He will provide valuable intelligence concerning a weak point in the other town's defenses. In exchange his town is to be spared by the orcs (whether the chief has any interest in honouring the pact is up to you). The PCs catch wind of suspicious activity from the mayor and have to unearth the conspiracy and stop the plans from getting into the orc chief's hand.
Radiant117 06-16-07, 09:18 PM	A variation on the previous posts: Some lawful evil guy wants to dominate the region with his military forces on a legal basis. To that end, he's provided the orcs with enough assistance so they would conquer Hennet, then he's planning to come around and save the day. One not-very-original motivation: he was disillusioned by good somehow and thinks that the benefits of having a LE government (with himself as its head) are worth sacrificing a mere village (he might even warn the villagers beforehand in order to prevent heavy losses, so the players would wonder how he knew when given enough hints). The aforementioned assistance might include lending the orcs a PC-class underling to act as a spy and an intermediary between him and the orcs. Now that orcs on the average are not exactly bright, but their chieftain certainly is, and he has reason not to trust the LE guy, so he's sending messengers to other chieftains asking for their support and offering "pillage rights" in Hennet as payment. One possible plot hook: the LE guy's been hearing about the orc alliance for a while and realizes the orcs are about to double-cross him, so he sends the PCs to check the rumor and disrupt the alliance. The PCs have to gather enough evidence to ensure the LE guy won't be showing his face in public for a long while. Suppose there are three tribes in the alliance. Making the first one quit will require some dungeon-exploring (perhaps to steal a valuable orc totem, the loss of which makes them automatically inferior to other tribes, so the alliance is no longer advantageous/honorable) - seriously, a first-level D&D adventure without a mapped dungeon does not feel right; to deal with the second one the PCs will have to defeat a group of orcish champions in ritual combat; and the original chieftain will have a nasty campaign-specific surprise for the party (the surprise can work two ways: either it's something the PCs will recognize on sight and appreciate the cleverness of the design, or it can be "an honest surprise" referring to a later episode of the campaign, so the PCs will be like "Remember that orc chieftain from the first adventure? Now I totally see what all that meant!") For opponents, I advise mixing humanoids (orcs, in this case) and non-intelligent monsters (each type is creepy in its own way). 1st level is not a launching pad, it's a level in its own right. Be wary of orcs' STR modifier, though, and use only the NPC array for monster stats. Throw in some healing potions. (According to the rules, 2 orcs are a regular encounter for a party of 4 1st level characters, and the folks at Dungeon Magazine thought a 4th level wizard was an okay stand-alone encounter for the same party.) Stand-alone traps are okay; cleverly implemented traps spell T-P-K, so avoid the latter. Good luck!
Chapien 06-17-07, 04:06 AM	These all are great ideas! However, I am about to combine them... how do you like this? A group of 3 goblins have been terrizing the town. The mayer needs someone to stop them. (the PCs.) Well, the PCs infiltrate their lair and find out that the goblins are being led by an orc shaman. The shaman claims that he enslaved the goblins, and that the Red Skull Clan (the orc clan) had defeated the Black Spear Tribe (the goblin tribe) and made them their slaves. This shaman is the overseer of this group. THis leads to later adventures with both goblins and orcs. Also, they might be part of a evil LE cleric's army. For later, this post will remain open for further help on Azora I may need. Also, the LG country is called Chapien.:D
High Octane 06-17-07, 08:58 AM	Well that's a given. Everybody wants pie. ;) But not everybody has pie. And we have just summed up the cause of pretty much all conflict.
Chapien 06-17-07, 09:30 AM	Yes... every one likes pie. Well, what do you think of my idea?:confused:
High Octane 06-17-07, 10:17 AM	It works. Small scale is good for low levels and it is open enough to lead into larger things.
Anodai 06-17-07, 12:05 PM	Well that's a given. Everybody wants pie. But not everybody has pie. And we have just summed up the cause of pretty much all conflict. Sigged
Chapien 06-21-07, 03:54 PM	Well, the adventure is near completion. All EL 1, with an EL 3 at the end. One EL 2 in the middle, with 2 traps involved, 3 goblins, 1 orc shaman, a bat swarm, a spider swarm, a darkmantle, and of course treasue.