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View Full Version : An initiating combat for a new campaign?



Toliudar
2009-10-09, 08:38 PM
Because I hate starting out campaigns with extended exposition or "you find yourself in a tavern, when..." startups, I'm looking for a memorable creature or combination of creatures to challenge a new group and get them a bit familiar with each other. I'm looking for ideas on who, or what, that encounter might be:

The basics:
Five characters, level 6 (characters not yet picked yet). Most will be roughly Tier 2-4. They won't know each other at the start of the combat, and will all be travelling in response to a royal summons.

The opponents will be agents of a BBEG - either summoned creatures who know nothing of why they are doing what they're doing, or else killers for hire that, again, know nothing of Keyser Sozhe their ultimate employer.

Setting is riffing on ancient Egypt (and, in the event that you're applying to my Eyes of the Sun campaign, this would be a good place to stop reading), but with some flexibility in how that's interpreted.

The fight could be on a barge, in a street at night, or even (without warning), with a teleport into the palace itself.

The circumstances surrounding the arrival of the threat need not adhere to RAW. It is imperative that the players not infer too much from the nature of the attack, or direct too much energy to tracking hired muscle back up the chain. The story is about to take them elsewhere.

Anything come to mind?

Eldariel
2009-10-09, 08:43 PM
Dominated Trolls wreaking havoc in some slightly more remote civilized area the party happens to be staying overnight in. By wreaking havoc, I mean coming into said civilization and really trashing every living and unliving object around.

The Dark Fiddler
2009-10-09, 08:45 PM
Hmm.... Egypt? They had sling-fighters, right?

Start the battle with them getting a rain of rocks from one direction. When they turn, they find a small group of warriors about 200 feet away (although the range penalty would suck, but still). Make them out to be bandits.

Forevernade
2009-10-09, 09:14 PM
Have their royal summons way-layed by impersonators (hired by the BBEG), people with similar descriptions as the PCs, similar talents, and because they know the detail of the summons but not the people, it could be fun and confusing when the PCs try to figure out who are the real ones summoned and who are fake: Resulting in a battle to knock unconscious or drive off the impersonators.
All the impersonators would know is the details of the summons, and orders from a mysterious person to take up the job, and then ditch it so that it is never done.
A bonding experience for PCs, and an excuse to stick together so that they know they can trust eachother when they are all sorted out.

Temet Nosce
2009-10-09, 09:16 PM
Start it in a tavern. Then have a boat filled with pirates smash directly through a wall of the tavern.

Yeah, I know that's not really feasible for your campaign but I felt like suggesting it anyways. Better idea would probably be something along the lines of your settings equivalent of Nubians assaulting the characters. This is only interesting if you're using a fairly heavy Egyptian basis though (and how interesting it is would depend on the particular period of Egypt you're using for inspiration).

Alternatively borrow from more mythical Egypt. Serpopards perhaps? Although I'm unsure how you'd stat them (They're essentially a cross between a leopard and a snake)

jiriku
2009-10-10, 01:29 AM
Barge is the best setting. Make the attack occur just as they are boarding; this creates lots of opportunity for higher ground on the upper level of the barge and the dock, unsteady terrain on the gangway, cover behind bales of cargo, and plenty of ways to get bull-rushed into the river. Loads of fun. Way better than a fight on a city street or in a room.

For your attacking party, a NPC party performing a scry-and-die sounds good. The scrying can be handwaved as having been provided by an off-camera wizardly minion of the BBEG. Use another NPC or two with class levels and several summoned monsters (all summoned by the same off-camera fellow who performed the scrying).

I recommend a fiendish dire crocodile, a warlock, a swordsage with setting sun maneuvers, and three fiendish giant wasps. Equip the warlock with two scrolls of teleport and a good UMD skill, and he'll be their method of getting in and out. Pre-buff the attacking party with a couple of common low-level wizard spells like bull's strength and haste.

AslanCross
2009-10-10, 01:35 AM
I too have a distaste for tavern beginnings.
*highfive*

A sudden sandstorm kicks up when nobody expects it and the monsters charge in.

Toliudar
2009-10-10, 07:14 AM
Thanks folks. I'm quite fond of the barge image, and the combinations of folks would help people try out a range of tactics.

I've still got a week or two to work this out, so if there are other ideas, I'd love to hear 'em. But, again, thanks for some brilliant images. I may not crash a pirate ship into a tavern THIS game, but there's always the next...