Lead-in to Cormyr: Tearing of the Weave

[BobROE]

There is a first level adventure set in the Dales at Galath's Roost (an old bandit fort). Given its proximity to Cormyr, it might be worth checking out. I think its in Dungeon #85, but I cant be sure.

Which gets people up the 3rd I think. Throw some random encounters on their way to Cormyr and they'd be fourth.

And if I hadn't already run this adventure I might do just that.

 

[ruleslawyer]

Something that should be repeated.

One of the biggest failings of the D&D game and the level system is the default assumption that you're cheating if you don't start at first.

True, but on the other hand...

The big advantage to starting at 1st level is that it lets the players get to know and love what they'll be fighting to defend in the new scenarios.

This is a very pertinent point. 1st-3rd are usually useful levels for some "lightweight" adventuring designed to get PCs familiar with the NPCs, places, and ideals that they'll eventually (one imagines) be willing to defend to the death.

I like the idea of using Haunted Halls of Eveningstar/Irongard myself. They're right on point for Cormyr and have the (big) advantage of getting the PCs involved in a friendly little town's well-being. Then, once you start throwing the world-shattering plot into the mix, they've a good deal invested in the setting.

 

[Vanye]

I like the idea of using Haunted Halls of Eveningstar/Irongard myself. They're right on point for Cormyr and have the (big) advantage of getting the PCs involved in a friendly little town's well-being. Then, once you start throwing the world-shattering plot into the mix, they've a good deal invested in the setting.

The only problem with starting a 1st level party IN Cormyr is a biggie: by the laws of Cormyr, an adventuring party requires a charter to be a legal adventuring group (as opposed to a bunch of thugs with weapons & armor) and that costs 1000g. There are ways around that (running dirty, and hoping you don't get caught by the Purple Dragons, forging one, finding sponsors, etc) but it can be a crimp.


Personally, I just started a campaign in Cormyr, with the aim of using the Cormyr module when it came out. I started the pc's in Tilverton, however;
( I'm going to end up weaving the destruction of Tilverton into the backstory for the module). I placed old Keep on the Borderlands Caves of Chaos in the mountains northwest of town, making it a staging area for a possible goblin/hobgoblin invasion from the tribes in the Stonelands. The PC's resuced the merchant and his wife (I believe it was in cave set D). I made the merchant a native of Tilverton who had been captured, and he and his wife were so grateful, they hired the players as guards, and will be paying their charter fee in return.

The players are currently in Ashabenford, heading south to Archendale to investigate a problem with orcs, on the behest of a friend of one of the dwarven PC's fathers. (possible tie in to Red Hand of Doom, heavily modified). The orcs will be the symptom of a deeper problem, drow followers of Kirransalee (allowing for the City of the Spider Queen, updated to 3.5) who have a gate into Cormyr (to their temporary allies in Wheloon.....for Tearing the Weave)...and if they decide to investigate the dwarven family heritage, they may go after the Lost Mines of Tethyamar (which I'll create using the old Dwarven Kingdoms of Krynn boxed set, which had some dwarven geomorphs)....

 

[Faraer]

The only problem with starting a 1st level party IN Cormyr is a biggie: by the laws of Cormyr, an adventuring party requires a charter to be a legal adventuring group (as opposed to a bunch of thugs with weapons & armor) and that costs 1000g. There are ways around that (running dirty, and hoping you don't get caught by the Purple Dragons, forging one, finding sponsors, etc) but it can be a crimp.

Yet there are Cormyte adventurers! Charters (which are used in other places than Cormyr) are not an inhibition to Cormyrean adventuring but a spur to drive the PCs to earn their legitimacy and a chance for guidance from their sponsor: thus it was that the king charged the fledgling Knights of Myth Drannor to venture the Haunted Halls, as told in FR7 Hall of Heroes and, finally, in fuller form in Swords of Eveningstar!

What the charter grants is the right to publicly bear arms: a difficulty young heroes should be able to deal with.

 

[hong]

True, but on the other hand...

This is a very pertinent point. 1st-3rd are usually useful levels for some "lightweight" adventuring designed to get PCs familiar with the NPCs, places, and ideals that they'll eventually (one imagines) be willing to defend to the death.

However, you can do the exact same thing at 4th-7th. Those levels aren't so removed from everyday experience that the PCs become disconnected from the people around them.

 

[ruleslawyer]

I don't disagree on a pure power basis (although I'm glad you appreciate the problems involved with getting JLAers... err, high-level adventurers invested in their surroundings!), but I imagine that in the context of a supermodule like C:TotW, there just won't be time for that sort of thing. The principal issue isn't that levels 4-7 are so much different from levels 1-3, but rather that the module starts at level 4, so starting at level 4 means the DM is opening chapter 1 right away.

I imagine, in fact, that maybe the designers of such products (as with RttToEE) are thinking that a few levels prior to the main meatgrinding action allows for the initial character development and NPC interaction that will permit the PCs to evolve as fully-realized characters and give them a jumping-off point for stuff like item creation inputs, sources of custom equipment or aid, cohorts and hirelings, providers of new spells, etc. Just a thought, though.

 

[Felon]

The principal issue isn't that levels 4-7 are so much different from levels 1-3, but rather that the module starts at level 4, so starting at level 4 means the DM is opening chapter 1 right away.

I imagine, in fact, that maybe the designers of such products (as with RttToEE) are thinking that a few levels prior to the main meatgrinding action allows for the initial character development and NPC interaction that will permit the PCs to evolve as fully-realized characters and give them a jumping-off point for stuff like item creation inputs, sources of custom equipment or aid, cohorts and hirelings, providers of new spells, etc. Just a thought, though.

Sorry folks, despite the number of folks proffering this stance, I just don't get this notion that characters starting at 4th level and going straight into an adventure are going to be denied some opportunity to develop that they would be afforded by starting at 1st and going straight into some other adventure. If you don't want your party to go straight into the adventure, then have them dally in town. They can do that at 4th as well as 1st. Probably better.

And frankly folks, it strikes me as rather starry-eyed to focus on PC development being fostered by some cozy little vignettes with NPC's as the party goes about low-level "light work". This is turning a blind eye to the much more practical downside of sticking players with lowbie characters: sudden death of a highly ignominious nature as one's character dies instantly in the first round of their first combat. For the guy wearing scale mail with a red shirt underneath, there is no such thing as "light work".

First level is little more modest than many romanticize it to be. It's squashing kobolds, big bugs, and rats with overactive thyroid glands. Anything tougher than that can send PC's to the boneyard before they have a chance to share their backstory. That includes such fearsome creatures as...humans with swords (shudder).

First level exists to help newbies learn the game. Characters meant to be taken seriously start at 3rd-level, minimum.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

First level is little more modest than many romanticize it to be. It's squashing kobolds big bugs, and rats with overactive thyroid glands. Anything tougher than that can send PC's to the boneyard before they have a chance to share their backstory. That includes such fearsome creatures as...humans with swords (shudder).

I have to agree here. People complain that high-level CRs are out of what, but at the lowest levels, it's just as bad: A lot of the challenges that are supposed to be appropriate have a very real chance to kill the characters.

Take your average or straight out of the SRD: It has an attack of +4 Melee (2d4+4/18-20). If that thing manages to get to a wizard before the wizard can act, it has a very good chance of dropping him instantly. Wizard with maybe 7 HP and an AC of 13ish, meaning that the average roll will hit and the average damage (9 hp) will drop him to -2. If the orc gets a crit (not that unlikely with this crit range and DMs' infamous ability to roll fiendishly well if they sit at the DM's seat), the wizard will just die.

All this means that you'll have to handle characters with velvet gloves for the first couple of levels.

First level exists to help newbies learn the game. Characters meant to be taken seriously start at 3rd-level, minimum.

That's why I seldomly start a game below level 3.

 

[00Machado]

Which gets people up the 3rd I think. Throw some random encounters on their way to Cormyr and they'd be fourth.

And if I hadn't already run this adventure I might do just that.

My first choice would be start at 4th unless you already have something that you specifically want to run because you're already excited about and/or if your players really prefer to start at first level and "work their way up". No point in looking for stuff just to fill in a few levels though.

If you do want adventures, I would recommend Raiders of Galath's Roost, as mentioned above, then Sons of Grummsh (tweaked to be for level three instead of 4).

 

[3catcircus]

Thanks! Haunted Halls of Eveningstar sounds perfect - I just gotta go dust it off. I'll check out Galath's Roost too!

As to arguments regarding 1st vs. 4th - let's just say that I prefer starting out at 1st level. I also prefer not allowing PCs to buy magic items in all but the largest cities, disallowing combinations of PrCs, feats, magic items and other things that give the PCs advantages that the game designers never accounted for, disallowing weapons and armor to have more than one special magical ability (i.e. no flaming, valorous, dancing swords) unless a relic or intelligent, and generally limiting the power level of the game to avoid an arms race.