For the beginning of the game I keep loving the idea that somebody (I think it was Piratecat) had for how the PC's meet: They are at a location where somebody is recruiting adventurers for a dangerous job. There are lots of PC's and NPC's there seeking to be hired and, when all is said and done, the recruiter picks everybody BUT the PC's. They are left standing there, not having been selected. That's when somebody else steps in and asks them to do a more humble and dirty little job...*
Kobolds Ate My Baby Sheep
The town of Misty Hills lies in the southern lowlands of Semma, right near the Mist edge. It's an area known for its fine wool that is shipped back to the capital city of Semma for the fabric producers there. It is a hilly area, which is the only thing that makes it habitable because it sits just above the Mist. When the tide is high and the winds are wrong, the Mist can creep right up to the doorsteps of the town.
The flocks of sheep have always been subject to some predation. A few sheep disappearing and even a lone shepherd vanishing every few years is not entirely unexpected. But recently a large number of sheep have gone missing and it's become a much bigger problem. A group of shepherds spotted the source of the problem: Kobolds. One of the shepherds, a brash but charismatic youth named Jal Hillson, got together a posse to travel east to the very Edge seeking to recover the flock and put an end to the Kobold threat. That group has not returned. With a high Mist expected in the next couple of days, if they aren't found soon then they will most likely be lost to the Mists.
So the basic idea is pretty simple. PC's travel to the Kobold lair and attempt to locate the missing villagers (and possibly their sheep). Observant PC's will note that, as they draw near to the lair the grass is close cropped. And there is an ominous sound, "like a giant Darth Vader, breathing somewhere nearby." That sound is a big bellows that sucks in the Mists and concentrates it in a special chamber where the sheep are transformed into...Kobolds!
Yes, Kobolds are sheep that have been mutated by the chaos magic of the Mists. Unfortunately for them, they are sterile. On the upside, they have discovered how to increase their numbers by kidnapping sheep from the nearby farms and exposing them to concentrated amounts of Mist. This hastens the natural process of the mutation.
Why do they wish to increase their numbers? There is strength in numbers! This idea is too ingrained into their sheepish brains to let go of. And a good thing too because lately they have been subject to hungry attacks by an unspeakably horrible creature.
The PC's must enter the Kobold lair, defeat the Kobold guards and survive being set upon by vicious, partially mutated Dire Sheep. With that accomplished they must rescue the captured villagers and then flee the lair whereupon they are confronted with the true threat: The Mist Mind.
The Mist Mind is rather like a big Grell with shorter, weaker tentacles. A giant (say 15 feet across) disembodies brain that floats around the edges of the plateau looking for food. It is, at all times, surrounded by a flock of Mind Bats. These giant bats with enlarged and exposed brains protruding from their heads act as the feeding mechanism for the Mist Mind. They fly out and sieze up prey in their claws, bringing it back to be grabbed by the Mist Mind and pulled into its toothy maw. The bats themselved do not eat the prey, instead suckling a sort of "milk" from the tips fo the Mist Mind's tentacles. Whether this is a bizarre, symbiotic relationship or the Mind Bats are simply a juvenile form of the Mist Mind is of no consequence. All that matters is that it is creepy and dangerous!
*So when the main campaign rolls around, I'll give the players the same opening scene only that time their PC's will be the ones first picked by the initial recruiter. They can exit that scene wishing good luck to the NPC's left behind to take up this adventure which they've already played. Make sense?
