Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 johnsnow Oct 21, 2010 13:21:13	Firstly: if you don't like Essentials and want to rant about it, take it somewhere else. I picked up the Essentials DM's Kit and I'm really digging Reavers of Harkenwold. I want to use it to get my campaign off to a banging start. But there's a problem. As written, the PCs start at level 2. While I could scale it, I kinda like the notion of the party having some experience before tackling this one. In the interest of inadvertently giving away details, I'm gonna put in some spoiler space... Okay, so I love the Iron Circle (Asmodeus-worshipping bandit/mercenaries? Awesome!). However, I think this adventure will play better AFTER a good intro one. I think it's written as 2nd-level, so that it can directly follow the Twisting Halls from the Red Box, but frankly, I don't like that as an intro. What I need is a good beginning adventure that: 1) Brings the party together. 2) Introduces some of the themes of the campaign. 3) Leads nicely into Reavers of Harkenwold (ideally dropping some hints).  I'm trying to avoid cliché starts, like "a mysterious stranger approaches you in a tavern" or "the caravan you're escorting is attacked by bandits." And unfortunately, I already used the opening of the Scales of War in another campaign with (mostly) the same group, so that's out. I'd been thinking of an "In Media Res" start - where the PCs are already in the thick of things. And the reason it's this group is because, well, they're the ones there. One thought I was kicking around... PCs are in Fallcrest (native or newly arrived) when they end up in the middle of a crime in progress. I'm thinking maybe either a robbery or a kidnapping at the dockside near the lower quay. The person in question is clearly outnumbered and will be taken/robbed unless the PCs intervene. Probably, they will. If they succeed, they prevent the crime and are left with a couple mysteries to solve. Who were the assailants and what were they after? Who's the victim? Idea one: the victim is a relative of the Lord Warden. It's an attempted kidnapping, with the goal of forcing the Lord Warden to capitulate and turn over power. The PCs have now come to the attention of Lord Warden Markelhay, who's very thankful to them for saving his daughter/sister/niece/etc. The cultists will of course try again, but in the meantime, the PCs can be tasked with a mission for the Lord Warden - finding out who was behind this, for example. Now, the kidnappers could be Iron Circle members, or devotees of another cult. As written, one of the nobles in Fallcrest is a devotee of Tiamat. That's obviously changeable - he could simply be made into an Iron Circle member, or he could be in league with them. Similarly, there's a tiefling who wants to overthrow the Lord Warden, and HE could be the mastermind behind this. I could also steal from Keep on the Borderlands and have an itinerant priest who plays at being a good guy but is actually trying to dupe the PCs into doing his dirty work for him. Again, he could be an Iron Circle member or a member of some other competing cult that's either competing with or in league with (or being used by) the Iron Circle. Another possibility is that the crime the PCs thwart is a robbery rather than a kidnapping. But then I need some MacGuffin for them to be trying to get. And yeah, it could be a map to the MacGuffin rather than the MacGuffin itself. But the point is that I then need some object and a reason for the search. Of course, the person in question could also BE the MacGuffin (they need a blood sacrifice or something á la Pirates of the Caribbean or Big Trouble in Little China). Obviously, I need to flesh this out some. But I'm kinda stuck spinning in circles and need some direction. So I'm throwing it open. Thoughts? Suggestions?
#2 Caliber42 Oct 22, 2010 3:43:49	HS-1 The Slaying Stone takes the party all the way through first. There are some pretty good reviews of it on Amazon. A mildly creative DM could easily take it and use it as a tie-in to other modules/adventure sites. I made a few tweaks to it here and there due to personal tastes, though it would likely do a bang up job as written IMO. -Cal
#3 Imruphel Oct 24, 2010 3:55:08	What about trying Coppernight's Hold from Dungeon Delve together with its sequel Coppernight's Salvation from Dungeon 178? The duergar are followers of Asmodeus so might make for a good tie-in with the followers of Asmodeus in Reavers. Also, the adventure is set up nicely as "for hire" work which should make getting the group together that much easier.
#4 Ktulu Oct 25, 2010 13:59:54	What about trying Coppernight's Hold from Dungeon Delve together with its sequel Coppernight's Salvation from Dungeon 178? The duergar are followers of Asmodeus so might make for a good tie-in with the followers of Asmodeus in Reavers. Also, the adventure is set up nicely as "for hire" work which should make getting the group together that much easier. I just started my players out with some simple jobs forced on them by a local thieve's guild which lead to a battle against some Shadar-Kai.  Only takes about 3 sessions to hit level 2, so not too much work needed. I was already planning on sending my group to some ancient eladrin crypts when I read the RoH and made a few adjustments. They were hired by a fence to seek out and find an Eladrin ring in one of the old crypts.  Along the way, they crossed the farm and helped the family out. Felt like a true, classic adventure hook.  The party's loving the Iron Circle.