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Message: <blockquote data-quote="jayoungr" data-source="post: 6601464" data-attributes="member: 6702445">I considered starting HotDQ in Greenest, or even in someplace like Baldur's Gate, but in the end, I went with the basic opening scenario as written, for two reasons.  The first was because I just couldn't resist the dramatic image of the group reaching the top of the hill and seeing the siege spread out below.  The second was because I wanted to use Patchy (from the Begging for XP podcast) to bring the group together so they could bond a little before getting into combat, and having them travel together seemed like the best way to do that.  If they'd been in town, some of them would have wanted to start on the tasks suggested by their background bonds--one PC had the "investigate dragon activity" assignment from Ontharr Frume, for example--and others wouldn't have had anything to do.I did borrow Patchy, and he worked very well for getting the group together.  They met at the crossroads to the east of Greenest, where two PCs were coming in from the south and the other two (with Patchy) were coming down from the north.  I played up the family drama a bit by having Patchy reminisce about how he'd skipped town forty years earlier to become an adventurer, leaving his brother to take over the family business, and how he felt a little guilty about that but proud of his brother's accomplishments at the same time.  He wanted to give his brother the family crest medallion as a sort of symbolic gesture.  (I also described the medallion as showing an owl flying over a mountain under a crescent moon--"Night Hill.")  My intent was just to make the PCs feel that it was important to get the amulet to the governor so that they would be encouraged to go into the town, but I think I created an expectation that the amulet would then be magical and help in the town's defense somehow.  I think I might have it magically save Tarbaw from dragon breath or something during the later siege, just so that pays off.  Using the "Patchy" opening definitely helped get one of the PCs into town, as we have a fighter with the "secret coward" flaw.EDIT:  Also, I told my group it was the equivalent of August.  This was for two reasons--first, I wanted it to be late enough in the year that threatening the mill would be a really big deal, and second, I'm thinking ahead to the journey north; I want them to reach Carnath Roadhouse when it's cold, but not so late in the year that they'll wonder why crews are still going there at all.  And I'll be able to describe the cold, driving autumn rains on the way too.</blockquote>

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