Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 thelorekeeper_dup Jun 23, 2009 15:29:45	So my first adventure for a group of players will be they wander into a bustling trade town, when bells start ringing and the militia rushes to the gate to stop a hoard of goblins. Usually the guards are able to stop goblins easily, but these goblins are hurling fireballs and healing themselves. The PCs spend the adventure seeking out the village and finding out the source of these powers, a mystical stream. The PCs then destroy the stream by tainting it with an artifiact. Would this be an adventure you'd enjoy?
#2 Mechalibur Jun 25, 2009 19:05:55	I'm sure the town would be destroyed in the time it takes to figure out how they are so powerful, locate the stream, find out how to destroy the stream, find the artifact, and go back and destroy the stream. Also, why are the goblins attacking? Boredom?
#3 Xeadin Jun 25, 2009 19:20:07	Hmmm... Sounds dangerous... True- you can't have a complete adventure without Goblins- but you can't have a complete adventure without Kobolds as well. :D
#4 ShiningMongoose Jun 26, 2009 2:23:59	MY PC's would say "magic stream? why would we taint it? we setup camp, and dive into the water. Last one in a first level 3ed wizard!" you could say this turns them into goblins if you like but they prob would enjoy it. which could be a great campaign starter :P Needs a little modification to work I feel, such as an explaination to make it only effect Goblins. Perhaps there was a price for there new found powers, and the towns achieve, curiousity shop, museum has the item the need to give the warlock/fey/dragon/devil to repay them?
#5 turtlshellz Jun 26, 2009 2:44:56	I might enjoy and adventure like this as long as some more background work was done on the setting and motivations. Such as: Why are the Goblins attacking now? Perhaps the tainted stream has driven them mad (along with granting them new powers) and they have little or no choice. Why is the stream magical/tainted? Perhaps at the head of the stream is a trapped demon slowly bleeding its life blood into the waters of the stream. The Goblins drink from this stream every day (as well as bathing in it, using it for cooking water, etc.) so it has affected them drastically. Why has it not affected the Humans nearby? The stream is located in the nearby woods long since controlled by the gobbos so most humans are unaware of the stream itself. It is also a fairly unimportant stream and is easily overloked. However, at about the same time as the goblin attack a human child is seen to be behaving strangely, exhibiting strange powers. When questioned she/he reveals that she drank from the same stream the gobbos draink from earlier and that she has since felt strange. The adventurers then follow the stream back to its origins in the cave at the foot of a small mountain and discover the demon and its captor(s). along the way they have a few encounters with mad goblins and other wildlife tainted by the stream. Thus you have an explanation for the stream affecting (mainly) only the Goblins, you have a motivation for the characters to look into the event (the human child and the attacks by the goblins) and you have the reason why it is all happening. Ok so I didnt touch on the motivations of the bad guys. But if the demon is being forcibly bled by the bad guys then th party may find itself in the position of recieving a reward for freeing it. Or watching as it drags its captors to their eternal torment... Alright, all of that wa unsolicited so I hope it wasnt offensive. Just my thoughts on what might make it a fun and exciting adventure for myself :embarrass
#6 yackar Jun 28, 2009 5:27:55	Yup, definitely needs more back story - I agree with everyone's suggestions here. Also, try to get your PC's emotionally involved. That always works. Have them visit the village and then go away for a short quest or some such. Then, as they return, perhaps just to restock, they see that the village has been destroyed by goblins. They see bodies of people they previously met... perhaps? This compels them to take revenge and the reward is also in avenging for the village people. This all is in the assumption that you characters are mostly good or neutral though.
#7 zackblack Jun 29, 2009 10:07:19	My twist on the adventure would be very similar to this: MY PC's would say "magic stream? why would we taint it? we setup camp, and dive into the water. Last one in a first level 3ed wizard!" ...and then it turns them into goblins. The background would be this: The woods near the stream are never entered by the towns people because they are believed to be inhabited by goblins. Occasionally a goblin will wander from the direction of the stream towards the town but the townsfolk have quickly put this lone stragglers down. Unfortunately there must be a huge goblin hoard near the stream because the few times anyone has gone to investigate they have never returned but the hoard has never bothered to molest the town so the townsfolk decided to leave well enough alone. They were doubly sure that a "if it aint broke, don't fix it" attitude is the right way to go when, not too long ago, a group of adventurers went into the woods near the stream and never returned. Recently though a group of six goblins have been repeatedly attacking the town. They seem to be exceptionally skilled in weapon-fighting and magic use and thus are imposable for the simple townsfolk to stop. The townspeople believe that if it weren't for the fact that the goblins are using "smash and grab" tactics when attacking the town, that the goblins are powerful enough to raze the entire town and kill everyone. The hook: The stream is indeed magical (and is obviously so to anyone looking at it. Use your imagination as to how to describe it to your players). It looks so inviting and thrust quenching that it almost compels a adventurer looking at it to bath in it or drink from it (zero level humans, like townsfolk, are automatically compelled to drink from / bath in the stream). What the stream does is change any creature that immerses themselves in it or drinks from it into a goblin-with-benefits. The effect is slow acting (about an hour from immersion or drinking). The forest animals avoid the stream but every once in a while a thirsty creature will drink from it and then change into a goblin. The transformation cause a loss of personality but not a loss of skills, intelligence or abilities thus an animal transformed into a goblin would be of animal intelligence but would still be compelled to pillage the town (a minion level creature). A simple townsfolk would be smarter but again would run back to the town to pillage (a regular goblin). Adventurers would have all of their abilities (including all powers and spells), have a much better grasp of tactics and combat but would still be compelled to pillage (like a goblin). The group of six goblins that is currently attacking the the town is obviously the last group of adventurers transformed into goblins by the stream. How (or if) you disenchant the "goblins" and remove the magic of the stream is left up to the GM. The players might totally miss the clues, not realize what is going on and simply slay the goblins and move on. How you handle this possibility is up to you.