Help: Game tonight and no ideas!

[crazy_monkey1956]

First session after creating characters and getting a feel for their backgrounds. And I got nothin'. I have some vague ideas of something involving bandits on the main coast-road of the Kingdom the PCs are in, but beyond that, nada.

Help! I shall beg upon my knees if I have to.

The PCs are a Dex/Int based human fighter, and a human paladin. I have a gnome bard I'm planning on throwing in as a DMPC to give the group a little spell power and plot-nudges (bards are great for that).

Suggestions for first adventure of a campaign? Any help would be appreciated.

 

[gizmo33]

Do you have any modules or Dungeon magazines or anything? It's often easier to modify an existing adventure than create a whole new one at the last minute.

What are the character backgrounds? What are their alignments?

 

[der_kluge]

So, let me get this straight, you're starting a campaign with a couple of players and you have absolutely nothing prepared, whatsoever?

Wow dude, you're awesome. Way to go. Adlib it all the way!! It's the best way.

 

[crazy_monkey1956]

I have The Sunless Citadel, but both players have already played it. The fighter is the daughter of a minor noble from another country, part of a retinue visiting to cement ties after the alliance during the recent war. The paladin is a native of the kingdom, but from a backwater border community in the north, with recurrent problems with the barbarian tribes to the north. Paladin is LG, Fighter is NG.

 

[crazy_monkey1956]

I usually wing things a lot, but one of the players (the one who is not my wife) is still a bit of an unknown in terms of gaming style and preferences so I'd like to be a bit more prepared than usual (which is to say, I'd like to be at least a little prepared beyond "so, you meet in the tavern and decide to adventure together, what do you do?")

 

[Tamlyn]

I ran something similar to this that was incredibly simple as a first encounter.

Goblins set up some ambush on the road, when most a slaughtered the rest flee to a hideout in a cave in the woods. If they follow, more gobbos are slaughtered including a hobgoblin or two. In a back room they find artwork on the walls (not created by the goblins) depicting some unknown religious rites and writings. The cleric in my group couldn't make anything of the writings at the time, but they could come up later.

Not terribly original, I know but it's something to start with.

 

[bento]

I'd suggest going to the WoTC D&D site and downloading the adventure "A Dark and Stormy Knight." You can play it in a few hours and it will stave off "not having anything" for at least one more session.

 

[Ender_rpm]

They're both military type characters, so its fairly easy to order them about. Escorting the Fighters party on their return to the other kingdom is a good hook,
1. By land- See goblin post above
2. By sea- Storms, angry goddesses, packs of sea lions (the MM kind, not the Sea world Kind)
3. By magic- Teleport goes awry, stranding them behind "enemy" lines
4. By air- Large flying carpet, attacked by Rocs, land in hostile area/ environment. Marooned?

 

[Doug McCrae]

A local businessman, a somewhat unreliable individual, has purchased a silver mine but finds it's infested with kobolds who killed his manservant. (He ran away.) He hires the PCs to clear out the kobolds, but can't pay them until the mine is up and running.

PCs encounter a maiden amongst ruined bee hives. She begs them to take vengeance on the cruel knight(s) who destroyed the hives.

Rats (some dire, fiendish or larger than normal) are more prevalent than usual in a town, eating grain and attacking people. They need dealt with. The rats are the servants of a rat-demon, wererat or vampire. Bonus followup scenario!!

A farmer has been turned to stone by a cockatrice. PCs asked to help his wife transport the body to town to get him fixed, then deal with the cockatrice.

A witch (adept) has been causing trouble and needs killing.

PCs hired to move on this world's equivalent of gypsies or warforged (persecuted racial group) squatting in an abandoned building. Moral issue, probably no combat.

A noblewoman’s pet has escaped. PCs must recapture it.

 

[Nyarlathotep]

Beg, borrow or steal (okay not that last one) a copy of "Of Sound Mind" from Fiery Dragon. It's a cool adventure, easily set up and probably buyable in PDF form. My group loved it (and I enjoyed DMing it - something that doesn't happen as frequently as I wold like).