With that left open for later, I can work on the overall shape of the adventure itself. While I can't design individual encounters until I have a group (both players and PCs), I can decide what they will be in general terms (e.g. goblinoids looting a wagon, PCs get the drop on them), and on the flow of the adventure. Fot the big bad, I had the idea of a pair of orcs, twin brother and sister, heretics exiled from their tribe, that have attracted a ragtag band of similarly outcast goblins and orcs, and set up shop in the mine in question. The twins are going to be the PCs first contact with the Cult, though they likely won't relize it at the time. Indeed, what I want to aim for is, when they see the eye symbols the twins have, they just assume it is Gruumash's symbol. It won't be until later (say, when dealing with their chieften father who exiled them), that they find out different.
As for the twins themselves, they will be a pair of elites, the brother as the soldier melee type, the sister as the magical artillery type. While I am not designing them yet, I do have an idea of a mechanical hook: each will have an ability that triggers when the other becomes bloodied. As for why they are there, beyond general monster lairing, what if they choose this site because it allows them acces to the flows of energy and primal magic, allowing them to twist and draw on them for their own purpose? I was already considering this when I found out one of my players is pretty solidly set on playing a shaman, so that pretty much locks this idea in.
It also leads to another encounter idea. What if the actions of the twins have driven the primal spirit of the mountain mad? Encounter! Imagine a fight with a solo, a kind of mid-boss, as the PCs are attacked by the spirit up on the mountain. Defeating it doesn't kill it, but frees it from its frenzy. It can explain that the mojo of the land is being messed with and call on the shaman and his allies to set it right. Oh, and it can also imbue the shaman's totem with power, turning it into a magic item. Not only is it a great point to hand out a juicy bit of treasure, but it makes it personal. Win!
Another encounter I brainstormed up was an attack by bandits on their way to Briarridge. This will showcase the rough and dangerous nature of the area, as well as give everyone a chance to stretch their wings and see their characters in action. Especially with new players, this is going to be a softball encounter, and I will likely encourage them to use their dailies, letting them know they'll make it it to town okay from here. Metagamey, sure, but I want this to be the try-everything warm-up. Plenty of minions, scruffy desperate brigands, and the PCs being awesome.
At this point, I have a beginning, a mid-point, and a boss encounter, so its time to start weaving them together and filling out more. The overall flow of the adventure that I see (barring PC willfullness) takes shpe like this:
Bandit attack
Time in town (Rest, NPC interactions, another post will cover Briarridge)
Journey to the mine
The mine itself
I start considering links and encounters to flesh all this out. The spirit mid-boss is definately part of the journey portion, and its climax, but I need to get the PCs there without resorting directly to the shaman's PC sense. What if the madness afflicting the mountain spirit also affects other things? The PCs are breaking camp (cause it will take a couple days to get to their destination), on a foggy spooky dawn, when they are attacked by animals obviousilly under some unnatural influence or compulsion. When they defeat them, their spirits rise and depart up the mountain, beckoning the shaman to follow. Link, spookiness, low-visibility battlefield. Sounds good.
I also want an encounter with the goblinoid followers of the twins, give the players a taste of whats to come. With the bandits and the animals attacking the PCs, I decide I'll turn the tables. The players with find a band of goblins that have attacked a wagon from another mine, killed its driver, and are picking through and arguing about loot, when the PCs come on them and get the drop. Also, a good point to have some treasure.
That pretty much leads the party up to the mines. Since this is the focus of the adventure, and I already have four encounters before the mines, I figure I will want around six or so for the mines. The boss encounter is a given, so that gives me about five to play with. I want some variety, so I decide that while three of those are going to involve the twins' followers, I'll have two with other things that happen to live (or otherwise reside) in the mines. I don't have too much in mind yet for those individual encounters, save for a possible "overcome the guards to secure entrance to the mines."
For flow troubleshooting, the main potential I see is the party skipping the spirit mid-boss. Since part of character and party creation will include coming up for reasons for them to be on this adventure, getting them going won't be a problem. If they do decide to skip the spirit encounter, then I'll just up gun the twins a bit, as they have that stolen primal power, and add the shaman's totem to their treasure.
At this point, realizing I have a level or more of encounters here, I break them down into a list like so:
- Bandit attack
- Wagon looting
- Animals attack
- Frenzied spirit mid-boss
- At the mine entrance
- Followers 2
- Followers 3
- Others 1
- Others 2
- The Twins
From this point, as I come up with ideas for the other four encounters, I'll pencil them in, and start assigning treasure parcels. I also figure that clearing the mines is a prime example of a major quest, and the spirit is a good minor quest. I am open to more minors once I have character ideas and backgrounds that I can tailor too. This will certianly see them going into level 2, and I'll probably be drawing from the first few parcels for that level for this adventure.
Coming Soon: Once I have a confirmed party, I can start designing encounters, some of which I will feature here!
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