Quick help - 1st level 1st adventure village ideas?

[RangerWickett]

Tonight I run the first adventure for some new players. They'll all be 1st level, and the climax of the adventure will have them trying to stop a group of thieves in a windmill at the edge of town, fighting at night. The leader of the thieves will be a vicious, nearly invincible demon (which means I'm using the stats for a wasp swarm, except it's in humanoid form), but his flunkies are all weak goblins.

I'd like some help thinking of things to do to lead up to this fight. Things the PCs to do in town to get a feel for the setting (and to bond with it). Maybe some interesting NPCs they could meet.

All I know about the town so far is that it's in a large plains, is surrounded by wheat, it has a windmill (and so is very windy), and it has a local meeting place (maybe a tavern) for people to hang out. The uncle of one of the PCs was an adventurer, and he's been missing for a year now. He left to try to fight a demonic army far, far to the west, which has been trying to conquer this land.

Any other ideas? It's been a long while since I've done 1st level characters, so I'm afraid I might end up killing them with, like, goblins. We do, however, use a Wound Points system, so everyone has about 10 extra hit points before they pass out.

 

[RangerWickett]

Oh, and the PCs consist of:

Male Elf bard, a local.

Female half-Elf druid, not of the same race as the locals, but a native nevertheless.

Male half-Orc barbarian, who is hired help and friends with the Elf bard.

Female human monk, a local.

Male human cleric, a deserter from the local army that was fighting the demons in the west.

 

[Plane Sailing]

Some skill based challenges are always good for low level characters.

It would also be good to help the PCs to care about the locals.

Perhaps you could have a saucy serving wench in the bar who has a thing for the Elven bard, it can be played up as she has been lusting after him for a long time, doesn't want to see him go. Since the bard is a local lad, maybe he's captured the hearts of many local ladies even though he didn't realise it himself

It could be the time of year when they have their pre-harvest celebration - they play local games (taken from Tournaments, Fairs and Taverns since I know you have that!) and possibly drinking games (ditto).

The local blacksmith/armourer is the long time arm wrestling champion, takes on all comers (4th level expert, attribute bonus in Str gives him Str 19); will he be unseated by the half-orc barbarian? Will it be done in a manner that earns his (grudging) respect, or done in a matter that promotes hostility from him?

Since elves are long lived, have some elderly people in the town who used to play games with the elf when they were kids, and like to reminisce about the games they used to play. Perhaps work in that some of the bards general knowledge comes from the stories he's heard from them in the 100 years or so he's lived in the village.

 

[MonsterMash]

Possibly there should be people the deserter needs to avoid so he's not caught.

A small farming town - so there will be the usual cast, depending on size:
Mayor/Burgess/Headman
Blacksmith
Priest(s)
Miller
Inn keeper
Maybe a sherrif or other local law officer
Merchants would be coming and going - probably the best disguise for an outsider

For subplots how about a merchant having something go missing and hiring the party to look for it or else they've been hired as guards by a merchant which is why the non locals are in town.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Dog disappearing, little girl comes up to the players and ask if the could help her find her doggy. Players soon find out that a lot of dogs have gone missing, cats too. Latter they can find a bone yard and then ask the question "What eats cats and dogs?"

Use old wifes tails in the game to hint of evil, thinks like milk going bad = evil a foot, hens not laying = a fell shadow crossed. This can be the general talk in the local pub.

 

[Shallown]

Think of the small town archetypes.

The bully
The outsider
The peace maker
The gossip
The quiet but strong person

Start with the stereo/archetype and build around in your mind why are they these things. You can stick with classic motivations for some but pick at least one or two who have the twist of why they are who they are.

this sets a certain level of comfort with players becuase it is something the recognize easily and let them settle into their own predetermined mind sets so that if and when the twist are revealed they are twist.

You can easily use characters from small town movies books and base the people off of them. Just be careful to make most of them a little different. and always have an except: which means if a player ID's a NPC to be a character from movie or TV agree but give him an exception.
Example
Player "the constable is just like Andy taylor from mayberry"
GM "Yeah he is but you notice that he isn't nearly as trustworthy or happy when he thinks people aren't watching"

Also when I pictured this place I saw in my mind the sod houses like frontier people first used when they settled the west. Sort of dug in so when you step in you drop a foot or more into the ground. A very low slung village. This would work for a few reasons. Houses stay cooler iin the dirt and there might not be much shade on the open plains. Also low lsung house stay out of the winds which can get strong on the plains. It might also serve as a defense if the place is hard to notice on the horizen if there are nasty orcsises and such about.

this may also serve to create a society/community that is conscious of there personal space as far as houses go. Maybe it is a social fuax pau to enter someones house without a specific invite. Or talking to people outside from inside your house indicates emotional distancing as well. People who rush out to greet you may have things to hide etc. Also if you have a sort of free reign to come and go in a house would indicate your considered one of the family.

Hope this helps

Later

 

[Raven Crowking]

In my last game, PCs were asked to get a skunk out from under a porch!

Also, based upon the time of year, some details about the agrarian cycle (i.e., how these people make their living) might be in order.


RC

 

[diaglo]

Oh, and the PCs consist of:

Male Elf bard, a local.

Female half-Elf druid, not of the same race as the locals, but a native nevertheless.

Male half-Orc barbarian, who is hired help and friends with the Elf bard.

Female human monk, a local.

Male human cleric, a deserter from the local army that was fighting the demons in the west.

stories about the last time a great swarm of insects visited. set the stage a little. drop hints so they are in the back of the players' minds when they face the demon. this is 1st lvl so help is never a bad thing.

taunt the barbarian and the deserter with stories from the villagers about the brave men on the front. stir up the patriotic fervor.

have the druid help with the harvest. the summer wheat is ready to be brought in. something happens to it at the mill. the villagers suspect mice or other vermin and get the druid to help save the crop... the PCs then fight the goblins and demon instead.

 

[Thalantor]

- Have a murder in a house. The victim knew a bit about the thieves.
- Have the party find tracks at a ravaged farm. they can follow that to a place in the wheatfield where they find a big patch of wheat missing.
- Have the windmill go into disrepair because the owner couldn't afford it anymore and hang himself in the attic. Popular superstition kicks in, and the villagers don't go there anymore.
- Have the bar hum with gossip that this years crop is blessed and that the first bread baked of it will give a man the livespan of an elf. May or may not be true.
- Let them fight a few small air elementals. Sort of an explanation of why its windy. They are upset that the miller hasn't paid its due.
- Have little blond kids walk up to the party when they encounter the village and speak to them in monotonous voices: "The harvest is about to begin." Nothing like a little horror to get things started.

 

[Li Shenron]

Not related to your question, but a hellwasp swarm is almost impossible to be defeated in combat by 1st level characters. It's immune to all weapon damage. Do you plan to resolve the final encounter with something else than combat, or just look forward for levelling them up before?