Once to the village, the chief will use a translator to inform the PC's that they have been chosen by their god, Lono, to put an end to the growing threat of the snake people (Yuan-ti)...
... Before they set off, the Chief will bless them with a ritual including the acceptance of a tribal tattoo representing their god (I need help deciding on this tattoo's effect).
Here are the main things I need help with for session 1...
1. I need a minor buff provided by the tribal tattoo. It needs to be small due to the permanence of such a mark.
It could grant an extra HD each day, that'd be nice at 3rd (amazing at 1st level, if you decide to start at 1st), but become less significant as they level up.
Or, it could grant a bonus to whatever saving throw the Yaun-ti are going to be hitting the hardest (CON for poison, probably?)
2. I am unsure if I should create another encounter as a condition for receiving the tattoo. I was thinking like a trial by fire or one on one combat with the tribesmen (I like this idea less as it would be time consuming individually)....
3. I'm not sure if the events described in the first session will be enough to fill out a 3 hour block. Maybe they will be too much, what do you all think? Are there enough encounters to keep things interesting?
I doubt you'll get through all that. You can keep the initiation thing to get the tatoo in your back pocket in case they do blow through everything else very quickly.
4. Since there are no shops on this island, what starting items (like healing potions) should I allow my PC's?
Since they were just in a shipwreck you can list not the items they have or 'should have,' but simply what they were able to get to shore with.
They have no dedicated cleric.
Paladin is a decent healer. You could make an NPC a healer instead of a fighter.
5. Is it too boring to end the session without combat?
No. It can be nice to end on a cliffhanger, like the start of a combat, or with the revelation of something significant, but it's hardly necessary.
Overall, I think you may be trying too hard to plot out the adventure. That's not necessarily a bad thing with new players, they may not have much idea what to do, and having an obvious, linear plot for them to follow can help.
Another reoccurring piece of advice you guys keep saying it to start our characters at level one. For some reason I was under the impression that starting at a higher level would make it easier for me to plan more interesting encounters and this is why I recommended level 3. I’m afraid it’s too late to tell my PC’s to redo their character sheets for level 1 and I’m worried they will become vexed.
Level 3 is actually a solid place to start, characters are well-defined, and accidental character deaths are less likely - a 1st level PC can die instantly to a surprisingly high damage roll! The concern is that a 3rd level character is more complicated, especially a 3rd level Wizard or Druid. But, if the players built these characters and have been hammering them out for a while, they're hopefully up to speed on them... (I was under the impression they were pregens you'd made with the adventure in mind).
Though I’ve never played D&D I’ve been a play-by-post role-player for 11 years, so I do have an inkling on how to improvise, though admittedly not under timed pressure. We will see how it translates.
I suppose that should help.
You could make her a wilderness-oriented class like a Ranger or Druid, (maybe 1st level as she's young?) that could tie into her following taboos, and give her ways to help the party that don't steal center stage.
I assume many of the people reading this are men. I happen to be a woman and I am running a game for all male players. Is Akira’s story too… I don’t know… girly/soap opera-ish?
No. Don't be surprised if it never comes up, though - if the players just assume the obvious motivations and don't try to figure it out.
