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Talked to my players about where to start the campaign and how and the consensus was for everyone to be from the same town/city. So I've got two ways to go for a beginning adventure, either I have something big and disastrous happen to their hometown to spur them on to adventuring, or they use the town as their central hub during their adventures, at least for a while.

Wondering what good starting level ideas and threats are floating around out there that people are willing to share

Get rid of the giant rats in the basement
Kill the wolves going for the cattle
Find the Brigands attacking merchant wagons, hang and scatter the men and bring the leader in for the bounty
Find who is stealing the Bakers apple pies.
Why are lots of dead fish floating downstream past the town.
Investigate the ruins of the fort nearby because of reported sightings of undead
Its the fall festival, theres a fishing competition, a dunk the maiden competition, sack of potato throwing contest, a pie eating contest. Judge who made the best ale/mead
Shotgun wedding
Find X herb for the healer/priest.
Take a wagon to the next town to pickup a load of iron/iron goods.
A bloodied stranger with weapon in hand staggers down the road until he see the players, shouts out "you shall never have it" and throws the high quality bloodied sword at a party member and misses and turns to run, but then collapses due to shock and bloodloss. Chances are the pc's will pick up the bloody weapon and investigate the body just as they hear horses coming down the path, is it guards, or the people who did it, but one of the players is standing over the dead guy with a bloody sword in his hands.

I would be inclined to start layering on intrigue by having one of the player characters' families targeted by criminal elements (assault, kidnapping, theft, and extortion) while another's family has attracted the attention of a corrupt noble, and a third's is being bothered by cultists. In all cases, the actual perpetrators are weak enough that the players can do something about the immediate threats. The organizations that they're part of are large enough that reprisals will come afterwards though. It basically sets up a chain reaction that can drive an entire campaign.

Keivn's method is quite effective I find - Start with a villain that has an interesting concept, then stat him/her/it out completely and you'll find, in doing so, that the adventure ideas write themselves.

Well, so far I've got a Wolfen Knight, a Coyle Thief, and a Bearman Warrior Monk, last player hasn't decided yet.
So I think I'll have to set it in the Disputed Lands and North.

RavenStarver wrote:Well, so far I've got a Wolfen Knight, a Coyle Thief, and a Bearman Warrior Monk, last player hasn't decided yet.
So I think I'll have to set it in the Disputed Lands and North.

thats no adventure! Set it the oposite side of the world!

Those 3 are captured slaves on board a slave ship when its attacked by pirates and wrecked. they must battle pirates, survive being shipwrecked at the Yin Sloth jungles and have to find their way home! - adventure written.

The Dark Elf wrote:

RavenStarver wrote:Well, so far I've got a Wolfen Knight, a Coyle Thief, and a Bearman Warrior Monk, last player hasn't decided yet.
So I think I'll have to set it in the Disputed Lands and North.

thats no adventure! Set it the oposite side of the world!

Those 3 are captured slaves on board a slave ship when its attacked by pirates and wrecked. they must battle pirates, survive being shipwrecked at the Yin Sloth jungles and have to find their way home! - adventure written.

0____________________0

RavenStarver wrote:Well, so far I've got a Wolfen Knight, a Coyle Thief, and a Bearman Warrior Monk, last player hasn't decided yet.
So I think I'll have to set it in the Disputed Lands and North.

In the North, the player characters can become involved in brewing civil war in the Shadow Coast colonies. Pick a colony, get them caught up in an act of sabotage in a backwater community (perhaps where they're from), and let them choose which side they want to be on. Help the saboteurs to escape or help the authorities capture the criminals/freedom fighters - what choice will they make? Make the encounter a low level, but frenzied battle where they must choose quickly in the heat of the moment. Both options have rewards and consequences. Were they seen? Why is the lanky ranger type suspiciously following them around town? What secret organizations might they be invited to join? Of course, one NPC is a traitor...

For lower level campaigns, I like to design encounters that can be solved with a battle, but have at least one or two other options to complete the encounter successfully without a fight - a clever use of skills, good role playing, fast talking, a distraction and grab, etc. and I give them an xp award as if they defeated their opponents in combat. Also, one encounter early on usually challenges the party mightily if they choose to fight - possibly killing one or more to keep it real.

Love to hear the direction you choose.

Cheers

Nab em in the northern wilderness as a slave grab from the western empire, make em help row back to the western empire and get sold as gladiators who then get bought as guards for and expedition into the yin, and then get free.

Given we've already agreed to start in the Eastern territories I don't think I'll spring a "surprise you're all prisoners give up all your equipment" on them.
I'm going to work on the starting settlement they'll be based in and I've got two short adventures lined up, but I'm not sure which to start with.
1) adapting the Fire Brand and his Raiders from the Old Ones book.
2) a tremor shakes the town, afterwards the well is dis roved to be dry. Upon inspection it's discovered that the tremor opened up a cave system in the well and the water has drained out. The well in itself isn't disastrous to the town, they have other wells to use. But what is a problem is the few people who've gone down there report strange noises and one man has gone missing.

RavenStarver wrote:Given we've already agreed to start in the Eastern territories I don't think I'll spring a "surprise you're all prisoners give up all your equipment" on them.
I'm going to work on the starting settlement they'll be based in and I've got two short adventures lined up, but I'm not sure which to start with.
1) adapting the Fire Brand and his Raiders from the Old Ones book.
2) a tremor shakes the town, afterwards the well is dis roved to be dry. Upon inspection it's discovered that the tremor opened up a cave system in the well and the water has drained out. The well in itself isn't disastrous to the town, they have other wells to use. But what is a problem is the few people who've gone down there report strange noises and one man has gone missing.

Losing all their equipment does bug the players at the start I have noticed
One man has gone missing is a little fun, how about one man went missing then came back a little strange, his hair has gone black, he will only talk to peoples shadows, often have conversations with things that aren't there and occasionally have his shadow leave him and go to the well at the same time everyday.

See, I lean towards the "Start them in a place and have something horrible happen to it. Something they can fight off, but that leads to bigger adventure."

So, they've got their furry hometown... and it's attacked by a horde of orcs! Or a group of demons! Or a troll witch!

They band together to fight it off, but they find that the orcs are massing to attack the Empire! Or that summoners in the woods are calling demons to gather sacrifices! Or that a group of demon worshipers in the woods are planning on making this a front in the Minion war!

This gives you a central hub for their adventuring that involves the hooks they may have written (Someone has stolen your baby sister!), but puts it in immediate danger, so they have to act.

kiralon wrote:

RavenStarver wrote:Given we've already agreed to start in the Eastern territories I don't think I'll spring a "surprise you're all prisoners give up all your equipment" on them.
I'm going to work on the starting settlement they'll be based in and I've got two short adventures lined up, but I'm not sure which to start with.
1) adapting the Fire Brand and his Raiders from the Old Ones book.
2) a tremor shakes the town, afterwards the well is dis roved to be dry. Upon inspection it's discovered that the tremor opened up a cave system in the well and the water has drained out. The well in itself isn't disastrous to the town, they have other wells to use. But what is a problem is the few people who've gone down there report strange noises and one man has gone missing.

Losing all their equipment does bug the players at the start I have noticed
One man has gone missing is a little fun, how about one man went missing then came back a little strange, his hair has gone black, he will only talk to peoples shadows, often have conversations with things that aren't there and occasionally have his shadow leave him and go to the well at the same time everyday.

Actually given my adoration for the Nightlords and Nightlands this isn't a bad idea at all.

Check out the Under the Tavern adventure from Dungeon Master G. Thanks to pblackcrow for turning the forum on to the site. DMG does a walk through of an entry level adventure on YouTube showing off his cheap crafty tiles. It sounds like what you're after. You may grab some ideas from it or even like it enough to support the site. Warning - once you've started it's kind of addicting. Link is here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeFvVuK3NcI&list=PLw-XImXo4zfMW2HLYhjXgYcueUZRhRP20

I have a formula for first adventures. The first one I throw at them is a shakedown run. The characters have to show they can travel effectively (navigation), survive on their own for a while (appropriate wilderness skills), fight and defeat a low-to-moderate threat (bandits, beasts), recover from such a fight (healing skills/powers/items applied either to themselves or a 3rd party victim) and do other tasks that might be important for the upcoming campaign. I generally don't introduce the Big Bad in this opening outing directly, but I try to include some foreshadowing and hints of what is to come.

I try to give these characters a wide range of opportunities to use their skills and abilities to solve relatively mundane problems. There are lots of skill rolls and plenty of opportunities for the characters to earn some experience. By the end of this first adventure, the characters are often at or near level 2.

At the end of this first adventure, I give the players of making alterations to their initial character skill and equipment selections to address any weaknesses or shortcomings that came up during the game. Then I throw them into Adventure 2, where they learn about the Big Bad and the party establishes its central goal/purpose.

With a group like that, my first inclination would be to do a simple "take something somewhere, complications ensue" plot..

say the Bearman Monk is carrying an important [something] that has to be delivered to a specific place. but he's never been there and does not know the route past whatever town you start them in. so he went to the town magistrate, who decided to assign a guide (the coyle theif, who is working off a sentence of community service or something), and sends the Wolfen Knight along to keep an eye on both.

this could pretty much set up the first sessions.. meeting and setting out, with a small encounter on the road early on. then the complications ensue.. the [something] has gone missing! the trail leads it to the camp/stronghold of the villain.. now the players have to find a way to get in, get the [something] back, and escape!

you can set up your villain and his goons around how tricky you want the solution to be, how well the players do various things, and exactly what the [something] is.

once the [something] is delivered, the group can end up involved in a grander story that spins off from there.

RavenStarver wrote:Well, so far I've got a Wolfen Knight, a Coyle Thief, and a Bearman Warrior Monk, last player hasn't decided yet.
So I think I'll have to set it in the Disputed Lands and North.

Seriously buy the "Adventures in the Northern Wilderness" sourcebook - First edition one. Its REALLY easy to adapt to 2nd edition and the adventures are FANTASTIC!
Its a better buy than the 2nd edition Wolfen Empire book.

The Dark Elf wrote:

RavenStarver wrote:Well, so far I've got a Wolfen Knight, a Coyle Thief, and a Bearman Warrior Monk, last player hasn't decided yet.
So I think I'll have to set it in the Disputed Lands and North.

Seriously buy the "Adventures in the Northern Wilderness" sourcebook - First edition one. Its REALLY easy to adapt to 2nd edition and the adventures are FANTASTIC!
Its a better buy than the 2nd edition Wolfen Empire book.

Seconded

Sorry to have been away so long, in the adventure thus far they have delved into the caverns below town to oust a tribe of dangerous lizard men (a custom creation, not the normal ones) and they took on a group of sixteen bandits led by a troll. Almost killed the Coyle thief both adventures.
I'm now working on a dungeon for them to run through, it's one I've used before in a Pathfinder campaign to great effect, just need to convert the creatures and traps. A question for anyone reading, what undead creatures are there or have people created for stocking a dungeon?

There is the standard stuff like Vampires, Mummies, Ghosts, Spirits, Entities and Zombies and other animated corpse type undead.

You also have the Land of the Damned II: Eternal Torment which has a ton of specific undead creatures. Abberations, Blighters, Blood Wraiths, Bone Fiends, Eviscerals, Festulents, Gravediggers, Harbingers, Jaliquettes, Morteii, Rawheads, Revenants, Sladka and Sleepwalkers

There are a few things in the Monsters and Animals book like Maxpary Shamblers and Yema for example.

There are also some demonic creatures that are undead like. Ghouls & Nasa for example.

I think Rifts might have a few unique undead creatures as well as someone other games (Nightbane or Beyond the Supernatural - however those I am not sure about. I don't play them.)

I personally stated up "Evil's" servants from the Time Bandits movie because I thought they were completely terrifying as a child.
Horrific 8ft tall cow-skull headed figures dressed in long black sackcloth and floated along the ground as they moved like shambling bones and screeched a terrible squeals. The could shoot fire balls from their eyes. I called them Estin Guard.
Estin Guard
Image II
Image III
Estin Guard
Attributes: I.Q. 9, P.S. 20, P.P. 18, P.E. 24, P.B. 3, Spd 10
Size: 8 ft tall
Horror Factor: 18
Natural A.R: 16
Hit Points: 90
S.D.C.: 180; completely regenerate within 48 hours unless the head and body are burned and buried separately.
Attacks: 5
Damage: 4D6+5 from claw
Bonuses: +4 to strike, parry and dodge; +3 vs all saves
Fearless:
Only magic and silver weapons inflict full damage; magic energy, fire and cold attacks do half damage, impervious to normal weapons.
Special abilities: Nightvision 200 feet, supernatural P.S. and endurance (never fatigues), impervious to poisons, drugs, disease, heat, cold, horror factor, phobias, fear magic, illusions and most psionics (including empathy, telepathy, and bio-manipulation). Magic fire and energy does half damage, but all magic weapons do full damage. It does not eat, drink, breathe, or sleep. Bio-regenerates 2D6 Hit Points/S.D.C. per melee round.
Shoot Fireballs (from eyes): Range: 200 feet, inflicts 6D6 damage and can be used as often as three times per melee round.
Sackcloth Robes: Works like a cape of dimensions.

They were a very deadly enemy for my players probably top ten scariest thing I made them face.

Lukterran wrote:There is the standard stuff like Vampires, Mummies, Ghosts, Spirits, Entities and Zombies and other animated corpse type undead.

You also have the Land of the Damned II: Eternal Torment which has a ton of specific undead creatures. Abberations, Blighters, Blood Wraiths, Bone Fiends, Eviscerals, Festulents, Gravediggers, Harbingers, Jaliquettes, Morteii, Rawheads, Revenants, Sladka and Sleepwalkers

There are a few things in the Monsters and Animals book like Maxpary Shamblers and Yema for example.

There are also some demonic creatures that are undead like. Ghouls & Nasa for example.

I think Rifts might have a few unique undead creatures as well as someone other games (Nightbane or Beyond the Supernatural - however those I am not sure about. I don't play them.)

I personally stated up "Evil's" servants from the Time Bandits movie because I thought they were completely terrifying as a child.
Horrific 8ft tall cow-skull headed figures dressed in long black sackcloth and floated along the ground as they moved like shambling bones and screeched a terrible squeals. The could shoot fire balls from their eyes. I called them Estin Guard.
Estin Guard
Image II
Image III
Estin Guard
Attributes: I.Q. 9, P.S. 20, P.P. 18, P.E. 24, P.B. 3, Spd 10
Size: 8 ft tall
Horror Factor: 18
Natural A.R: 16
Hit Points: 90
S.D.C.: 180; completely regenerate within 48 hours unless the head and body are burned and buried separately.
Attacks: 5
Damage: 4D6+5 from claw
Bonuses: +4 to strike, parry and dodge; +3 vs all saves
Fearless:
Only magic and silver weapons inflict full damage; magic energy, fire and cold attacks do half damage, impervious to normal weapons.
Special abilities: Nightvision 200 feet, supernatural P.S. and endurance (never fatigues), impervious to poisons, drugs, disease, heat, cold, horror factor, phobias, fear magic, illusions and most psionics (including empathy, telepathy, and bio-manipulation). Magic fire and energy does half damage, but all magic weapons do full damage. It does not eat, drink, breathe, or sleep. Bio-regenerates 2D6 Hit Points/S.D.C. per melee round.
Shoot Fireballs (from eyes): Range: 200 feet, inflicts 6D6 damage and can be used as often as three times per melee round.
Sackcloth Robes: Works like a cape of dimensions.

They were a very deadly enemy for my players probably top ten scariest thing I made them face.

Sadly I do not have Land of the Damned 2
But those things sound pretty creepy, pretty inline with my morbid fascination with the Nightlands from Nightbane.

You don't need that book to make great undead. Making undead is easy it will be easier to stat out your own homebrew undead anyway. What is important is just how they look, act and any unique properties that you want them to have. Write those out and that will give you something to work with. If you need inspiration either Google up some images or just look at some DnD creations. Then decide how tough you want them to be. Give them HP/SDC, bonuses and any spells, powers or natural abilities, weapons or armor and you are done.

Lukterran wrote:You don't need that book to make great undead. Making undead is easy it will be easier to stat out your own homebrew undead anyway. What is important is just how they look, act and any unique properties that you want them to have. Write those out and that will give you something to work with. If you need inspiration either Google up some images or just look at some DnD creations. Then decide how tough you want them to be. Give them HP/SDC, bonuses and any spells, powers or natural abilities, weapons or armor and you are done.

I found the monster creation tables from Land of the Damned 1. Perfect. Thanks for the help!

You might also start with a base of the Zombies and Mummies from the spell magic section, and develop from there. A quintet of zombie/mummy warlocks (and one psychic) based on the Planeteers could be a fun reference that they might not get. Or zombies that, the first time their AR is beaten by a bladed weapon, erupt in noxious and flammable gas.