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deephelldragon
2010-04-14, 09:28 AM
i am new at running a campain that i have writen myself i got one writen out but if there is anything that you could tell me to remember or stuff that you threw in yours that would be nice in a campain that would help i need stuff like magic items, traps, monsters that are going to be reacuring characters and just some other things that are nice to have if you want to see my campain look in advance search for my name then go to my campain idea i had posted.

Sinfire Titan
2010-04-14, 09:30 AM
You seriously need to work on your grammar.


It's difficult to help you if we don't know that much about your campaign. The search engine here is rather crappy, so any information you can give us would be much better.

deephelldragon
2010-04-14, 09:31 AM
The thieves order
" yes master i do have the item that you asked " some whispering from across the room "yes they have no idea what we plan on using this for i think even if they got someone they could not get close enough to us" some more whispering "yes i know not to get too cocky" some more whispering "as you wish master i will carry out your orders they will fall to us"
(back to the characters) the players are sitting in a bar and are having a drink when in comes a guy they recognize as a man they had all meet before he seem to want to go to a back room with out being seen. (ask the players what they want to do) " hello friends i do not have time to talk right now but if you wait until im back we can talk some more and catch up"
(so as the players are waiting another guy recognizes them and comes over) "so we meet again and this time i will not let you escape" (with a puzzled look on your faces) "don’t tell me that you don’t remember you slept with my daughter" (again you have a puzzled look on your faces) "now draw your weapon or die a coward"(level 5 fighter) after the fight "NOW do you wish to beg for your life it probable wont matter i will kill you anyway" (you hear a door open and out comes your friend) "halt there most be a mistake here why are you attacking my friends" "the had sex with my daughter and im going to kill them" "when did this happen" "about 5 years ago" "i can say that none of them did that because they where with me in my kingdom" "what do you mean your kingdom" "i am king bronten an i am king of zarbina they where out doing a quest for me" "oh sorry guys i did not know you all just look a lot like the guys that raped my daughter if you ever need my services i will be more then happy to help you out and sorry again for attacking you like this" "that may come in handy right now because i was just about to ask them to go do a quest for me so they may need your for this" "great thanks for doing this for me i will give you a ride back with me meet me at the edge of town at 5:00 pm in two days" (let the players decide what to do) (come 5:00 pm have the players meet the king on the edge of town) "hello my friends i hope that you had a pleasant couple of days to your self’s" "well my friends let us get going to the kingdom of zarbina" (let the players make last decisions) you go for about 2 months and finally reach the kingdom of zarbina when you make it there you find that the kingdom looks ok but does not look like it is the highlight of the world it has 2 islands named little and big salt the king of the other kingdom thought that this was funny because one of his knights wanted to be more so the king made him king of the island thinking that there was nothing there but there was a diamond mine located there that made this one of the riches kingdoms in all the lands making the king want this island back but the new king already had a castle set up so when the king tried to come and take it the new king had people trained called the salt snipers the where the best shot in all the land with the new weapon named the dwarfish rifle so when the king tried to take back the island he was defeated badly not a single salt was lost but most of the kings men where dead with his head low he left defeated back to his kingdom now our heroes show up and see about 30 armed salt snipers on the wall each looking like they had killed a man and are not afraid to do it to them in fact it looks like they would rather shoot them then let them come in to there town but they let them in any way on the boat with them was a man his wife and a new born child that has pure white like a snowy white hair his mother tells you that he is a special boy he was born in what she calls a hot air balloon far up in the air when they where shot down and got caught on a statue only to be rescued you find out that the king is a very curious man he is what this land calls a scientist you think he is some type of wizard but are not sure he tells you that the man is a top salt sniper and the woman is a very good scientist they even have there own place near the palace. Then you hear a shout from one of the salt snipers that there is a great big beast coming out of the water and that it looks to do us harm. You peer at the water it looks calm then it breaks out into a string of long tentacles that are attached to a 20 foot long fish but it says to you all “stop do not shoot I meant you no harm I just came to deliver a message to (say a players name) I am here to say that you are the only one that will most likely be successful on this quest you will most likely loose one or more party members but to stop the one you love from being hurt will you sacrifice yourself or will you complete the quest and leave her to die all alone it is your choice but I compel you to pick wisely that is all that I have to say I tire of this place I am going back to my lake now good bye and good luck”. So after the encounter with the mysteries fish you guys have an uneventful journey back to the kings land. “come my friends let me show you the reason that I have called you back here again for some more assistance. The king shows you what looks like a case that held the worlds biggest gem (dc 20 knowledge check to find out that it is the star ocean diamond)”this use to hold our most prized possession it was stolen from us by the krildraga the quest that I give you is to sneak into there get back this gem kill the leader and if you can burn down the place that they are at with the rest of them inside we can not let it be known that this gem was stolen so I also want you to find a list or find out all of the people inside of this guild of thieves if you need anything just tell me myself and my troops are at your command. (the king bows to you all). (once they are all into the thieves guild) congrats you guys have made it into the guild but that is all to show me that you will be a good part of this guild you must steal something that is very valuable to me you must steal a magic sword that belonged to my grandfather I will be sending 5 of my people with you to make sure that you do this as I ask you too now go until you complete this you should avoid the thieves guild halls. (let them know where the sword is and that it is dangerous to go there and try to steal this sword) “so he wants you to go and steal the sword of (sword name) if he really wants that then I am scared for all of us and for the world for with that sword you are able to do terrible things including summoning the elder of evil if he summons them then the whole world is at risk that sword even though they hate it is the only thing that can control them to do the wielders will but if the wielder becomes even the slightest bit distracted he loses control of them and can not do so again so if you can make him lose control then you can take over and make them go back and never visit again then you must destroy the blade but first give it to him find my gem then all will fall into place but be causes I don't want you to be killed so I suggest you go and visit the armory.

deephelldragon
2010-04-14, 09:33 AM
im rewriting this after the last time i posted this to see if anyone could help i just need some thing that could give this ruff draft some flair so anything you post will help i still need like everything but the storyline

kamikasei
2010-04-14, 09:35 AM
Honestly, the first piece of advise I'd give you is to work on your presentation. We can't help you if we don't understand your problems. We won't understand your problems if your description of them is incomprehensible. (To be, perhaps, more specific and therefore helpful: please, use sentences. Mark where they end with full stops. Structure your writing into paragraphs.)


I am new at running a campain that I have writen myself. I got one writen out, but if there is anything that you could tell me to remember, or stuff that you threw in yours that would be nice in a campain, that would help. I need stuff like magic items, traps, monsters that are going to be reacuring characters, and just some other things that are nice to have. If you want to see my campain, look in advance search for my name then go to my campain idea I had posted.

Am I parsing you correctly?

And I see you've posted again... isn't that just the campaign idea you already put up? Weren't you getting answers in the original thread?

Anyway, I suggest you take a look at this guide (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=76474).

deephelldragon
2010-04-14, 09:36 AM
yes i got ideas for the story line i need monstars, items, traps ect.

kamikasei
2010-04-14, 09:46 AM
The most important thing is for the game to meet the needs of the players. Items, for example, are going to be more interesting and memorable if they're something the characters have a use for (of course there's a lot of entertainment value in finding creative uses for various weird and situational items, but you don't want to make the most awesome spear ever with a long and storied history and then find that the party's fighter is built around using a morningstar). And note that this doesn't just go for builds. Giving the ranger encounters with his favoured enemy or the cleric undead to turn is obviously an important part of fulfilling the players' expectations, but consider also the party being stalked by assassins from the Thieves' Guild the rogue abandoned, or having to save a town from agents of the evil empire which killed the wizard's daughter.

I would suggest that your best bet is to run a few largely disconnected adventures (with or without continuity between them, but don't make them one long story, give each its own arc and give them closure) to get used to your group and their interests and to the craft of DMing. Much more important than ideas for specific game elements you'd harvest off a forum is the ability to respond well to the actions of the players in real time.

You got a lot of feedback on your draft storyline in the previous thread, but I don't see where any of it has been incorporated...?

deephelldragon
2010-04-14, 09:49 AM
i did not rewrite it i am still doing that so i will post the new campain story line on here and on there some other time so that you all can see it and see if i could use some other things in there.

kamikasei
2010-04-14, 09:55 AM
But then you're just asking for... what? Not help with your game, but for us to give you our ideas so you can use whichever take your fancy?

I suppose such a thread may be a worthwhile resource as a general pool but it'd be a very scattershot approach to... well, to anything.

deephelldragon
2010-04-14, 09:58 AM
no i dont want to just take your ideas i would like more if you just told me a book that you fond intresting that could work to help my campain and to help me.

valadil
2010-04-14, 10:07 AM
no i dont want to just take your ideas i would like more if you just told me a book that you fond intresting that could work to help my campain and to help me.

Monsters are found in the Monster Manual and items and traps are in the Dungeon Master Guide. Browse through those and see if anything catches your fancy. The content of both is available online at d20srd.org, but if you're just browsing (as opposed to looking up a specific rule) I find the books easier to digest.

Also, please punctuate your posts. I can't read that string of text you titled "The Thieves Order." I'm not trying to be a grammar nazi or pretend I'm a moderator. But I can't parse what you wrote and I'm probably not the only one. If you want us to be able to help with your game, please post in a manner we can understand.

deephelldragon
2010-04-14, 10:10 AM
The thieves order

"Yes master, I do have the item that you asked."
- Some whispering from across the room.
"Yes, they have no idea what we plan on using this for. I think even if they got someone they could not get close enough to us."
- Some more whispering.
"Yes i know not to get too cocky."
- Some more whispering.
"As you wish, master. I will carry out your orders they will fall to us."


(back to the characters)

The players are sitting in a bar and are having a drink when in comes a guy they recognize as a man they had all meet before. He seems to want to go to a back room without being seen.
(ask the players what they want to do)
"Hello friends! I do not have time to talk right now, but if you wait until I'm back we can talk some more and catch up."
(so as the players are waiting another guy recognizes them and comes over)
"So we meet again, and this time i will not let you escape!"
(with a puzzled look on your faces)
"Don’t tell me that you don’t remember you slept with my daughter!?"
(again you have a puzzled look on your faces)
"Now draw your weapon or die a coward!"
(level 5 fighter)

After the fight:
"NOW do you wish to beg for your life? It probable won't matter - I will kill you anyway."

(you hear a door open and out comes your friend)
"Halt! There most be a mistake here, why are you attacking my friends?!"
- "They had sex with my daughter and I'm going to kill them."
"When did this happen?"
- "About 5 years ago."
"I can say that none of them did that because they were with me in my kingdom."
- "What do you mean, "your kingdom"?"
"I am King Bronten and I am king of Zarbina. They were out doing a quest for me."
- "Oh, sorry guys I did not know... you all just look a lot like the guys that raped my daughter. If you ever need my services I will be more than happy to help you out and sorry again for attacking you like this."
"That may come in handy right now because I was just about to ask them to go do a quest for me so they may need you for this."
- "Great, thanks for doing this for me I will give you a ride back with me. Meet me at the edge of town at 5:00 pm in two days."
(let the players decide what to do)

(come 5:00 pm have the players meet the king on the edge of town)
"Hello my friends! I hope that you had a pleasant couple of days to yourselves. Well my friends let us get going to the kingdom of Zarbina."
(let the players make last decisions)
You go for about 2 months and finally reach the kingdom of Zarbina. When you make it there, you find that the kingdom looks ok, but does not look like it is the highlight of the world. It has 2 islands named little and big salt. The king of the other kingdom thought that this was funny because one of his knights wanted to be more, so the king made him king of the island thinking that there was nothing there, but there was a diamond mine located there that made this one of the riches kingdoms in all the lands, thus making the king want this island back but the new king already had a castle set up, so when the king tried to come and take it the new king had people trained called the "salt snipers". They where the best shots in all the land with the new weapon named the dwarven rifle.
So, when the king tried to take back the island, he was defeated badly. Not a single salt was lost but most of the kings men were dead.
With his head low he left defeated back to his kingdom.

Now our heroes show up and see about 30 armed salt snipers on the wall, each looking like they had killed a man and are not afraid to do it to them, in fact, it looks like they would rather shoot them then let them come in to their town, but they let them in anyway.
On the boat with them is a man, his wife and a newborn child that has pure white, like a snowy white, hair. His mother tells you that he is a special boy, he was born in what she calls a hot air balloon far up in the air when they were shot down and got caught on a statue only to be rescued.
You find out that the king is a very curious man he is what this land calls a scientist. You think he is some type of wizard but are not sure. He tells you that the man is a top salt sniper and the woman is a very good scientist, they even have there own place near the palace. Then you hear a shout from one of the salt snipers that there is a great big beast coming out of the water and that it plans to do us harm. You peer at the water. It looks calm, then it breaks out into a string of long tentacles that are attached to a 20 foot long fish, but it says to you all:
"Stop do not shoot! I meant you no harm, I just came to deliver a message to (say a players name). I am here to say that you are the only one that will most likely be successful on this quest. You will most likely loose one or more party members but to stop the one you love from being hurt will you sacrifice yourself... or will you complete the quest and leave her to die all alone? It is your choice, but I compel you to pick wisely. That is all that I have to say, I tire of this place. I am going back to my lake now good bye and good luck.”

So after the encounter with the mystery fish you guys have an uneventful journey back to the king's land.
“Come my friends, let me show you the reason that I have called you back here again for some more assistance. The king shows you what looks like a case that held the worlds biggest gem.
(dc 20 knowledge check to find out that it is the star ocean diamond)
”This used to hold our most prized possession. It was stolen from us by the krildraga. The quest that I give you is to sneak into there, get back this gem, kill the leader and, if you can, burn down the place that they are at with the rest of them inside. We cannot let it be known that this gem was stolen, so I also want you to find a list or find out all of the people inside of this guild of thieves. If you need anything just tell me. Myself and my troops are at your command.
(the king bows to you all)

(once they are all into the thieves guild)
"Congrats you guys have made it into the guild. But that is all to show me that you will be a good part of this guild, you must steal something that is very valuable to me. You must steal a magic sword that belonged to my grandfather. I will be sending 5 of my people with you to make sure that you do this as I asked you to. Now go until you complete this. You should avoid the thieves guild halls."
(let them know where the sword is and that it is dangerous to go there and try to steal this sword)
“So he wants you to go and steal the sword of (sword name)? If he really wants that then I am scared for all of us and for the world, for with that sword you are able to do terrible things including summoning the "Elder Of Evil". If he summons them, then the whole world is at risk. That sword, even though they hate it, is the only thing that can control them to do the wielders will, but if the wielder becomes even the slightest bit distracted, he loses control of them and can not do so again. So if you can make him lose control, then you can take over and make them go back and never visit again. Then you must destroy the blade, but first give it to him. Find my gem then all will fall into place. But be cautious, I don't want you to be killed so I suggest you go and visit the armory."

there this is better.

Caphi
2010-04-14, 10:18 AM
That's very... scripted.

Who am I kidding? It's railroaded like crazy. What levels are the PCs again? You can rock a boat by 3 and tip it over entirely by 6 if you think a little.

Mushroom Ninja
2010-04-14, 10:27 AM
A compilation of good DMing advice can be found here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=76474)

Dust
2010-04-14, 10:36 AM
I can't do this again (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=148894). I'm sorry, I can't.


Here's some links from the official Wizards of the Coast page that you might find useful:
Tips on Writing Your First Adventure (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ab/20060728a)
Structures and Plotlines (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ab/20060922a)
Cool Places to Fight, and Traps (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ab/20061103a)
The Plothook (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ab/20060811a)
Cool Treasure (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ab/20060908a)

KillianHawkeye
2010-04-14, 10:52 AM
My #1 advice for new DMs is to make sure to be prepared when your players don't do what you expect. Don't force them to follow your story. Rather, ask yourself "What if the players don't follow my NPCs' advice?"

Also, never script a conversation between players and NPCs (although you should at least have an idea of what the NPCs are going to say, just don't expect the PCs to have a dumbfounded look with no reply). You need to give your players free will, more or less.



When I write an adventure, I start with my villains. Who are they? What are their goals? Why would the PCs want to stop them? From there, I figure out the locations, write up other helpful or unhelpful NPCs the players might encounter, and what sort of treasure I might want the players to find. Then I try to anticipate what the players will do to thwart the villain's evil plans, but I never decide for them and they often surprise me. (This is a good thing!) You just need to be prepared for whatever they dish out, or else be able to improvise something on the spot.

Note: Personally, I'd never go adventuring with someone who introduces themselves with a death threat, even if they are mistaken and apologize afterwards. (I mean, WTF GTFO??)

DragonBaneDM
2010-04-14, 10:54 AM
AH! The wall of text is back!!! RUN!!!1!one!!!1

:smallbiggrin:

But seriously lemmee get a good look at this thing. Back for edits in a bit.

EDIT 1:

The first post...Is one sentence. Where other's would be rebuked I sir am impressed!!!

Now, reoccuring monsters: One word. Rivals!

Have each of your player's put a bad guy into their backstories and then make them. =D Rivals are ALWAYS fun!

EDIT 2:

...They...they all had sex with this one guy's daughter? At once or...? Um... Maybe think of a DIFFERENT motivation for this enemy, such as the characters stealing something from him.

As far as traps go, don't screw with them too bad. I'm guessing that they're as new to DND as you are. A few spiked pits and poisoned door handles will do it.

EDIT 3:

Ooooooh they LOOK like the guys that raped his daughter. Much more sense! Mmkay... I definately agree with the post below me. You gotta give this group a motive for framing the PCs.

EDIT 4:

Do what the guy below me says. In fact do EXACTLY what he says. I'm just a kid who likes to make lists of edits... ALSO! What is a salt sniper?

valadil
2010-04-14, 10:56 AM
there this is better.

Yes, yes it is.

How long do you expect those plans to run for? Is that one game session or several months of play? If you're planning several months in advance you may want to cut back a little. Players go in weird directions you don't anticipate and it really sucks to have to throw out 10 levels of plot just because the players didn't go in the right direction.

I don't have ideas for items for you. Why not just give the players some gold and let them buy whatever items they like? It's usually easier this way.

Regarding the thieves guild, one scenario I've seen used a lot is that to gain entrance to a thieves guild you have to prove your skill by going through a fake dungeon loaded with traps. I think this is where your traps could fit in. Just put in anything you've seen in movies and video games. Floors that collapse. Ceilings that drop and crush people. Sealed rooms that fill with water. 10 ton stone balls chasing the PCs. Covered pits filled with spikes. Etc. All these traps (and more) are located in the Dungeon Master Guide.

Finally, I noticed one plot thread that doesn't go anywhere. The farmer says his daughter got raped by a group that looks like the PCs. Who is that other group? Do they ever come back into play? Maybe they could be an evil version of the PCs. They'll commit some other crimes and the PCs take the blame over and over until they can track the other guys down.

KillianHawkeye
2010-04-14, 11:09 AM
Finally, I noticed one plot thread that doesn't go anywhere. The farmer says his daughter got raped by a group that looks like the PCs. Who is that other group? Do they ever come back into play? Maybe they could be an evil version of the PCs. They'll commit some other crimes and the PCs take the blame over and over until they can track the other guys down.

Yeah, they could be evil mirror versions of the PCs who look exactly like them except they all have goatees. :smallbiggrin:

deephelldragon
2010-04-14, 11:14 AM
they could be dopolgangers

valadil
2010-04-14, 12:05 PM
they could be dopolgangers

Possible, but why would they have imitated the PCs 5 years ago and then disappeared? Dopplegangers usually have a specific agenda (which includes killing the person they imitate). Why would these ones be different?

The only answer I can think of is maybe they don't realize what they're doing. They weren't brought up in doppleganger culture and so shifting forms just kind of happens based on whomever they saw most recently (though this assumes they saw the PCs as a group 5 years before the adventure starts). At any rate they cause all sorts of mischief and then switch into the next person they see. They see nothing wrong with what they do because the consequences never catch up with them. But they're not totally evil. After the PCs deal with a few instances of nobles getting framed for crimes, they'll catch on and maybe catch the dops in the act. I dunno, that's the best I can come up with. I bet someone else can do better.

Mauther
2010-04-14, 12:16 PM
I’d be real hesitant about the scripted portion you posted. If you actually are intending this as a in game dialogue, you are either going to have to railroad/script the players. I guess if your players are OK with reading from a script to create dramatic tension it might work out. But if you’ve laid out the dialogue assuming the players only possible response in something along the lines you’ve predicted, then you are in for a tremendous surprise. You just can’t possibly know what the PCs will do in any situation. I once had a 6th PC attempt to sucker punch a manifesting god during a dramatic speech. You just can’t see stuff like that coming. If your planning to essentially read what you posted above, using it like a cut scene in a video game, I’d recommend against it. Players tend to get bored and distracted easily if the focus isn’t on them. Also, don’t expect your players to be awe inspired by the unique nuances of the custom world you’ve created. Players are shallow bastards who will take all of your hard work for granted. So while you may have spent days think up the special initiation rights of the thieves guild of salt, your players will probably short it to 3 bullet points, forget the names of all of the NPCs you carefully scripted, and muscle on to the next encounter.

Also, find a mysterious name for the prophetic aquatic creature. Mystery Fish sounds like something you find in a ziplock bag in the back of the freezer.

My first recommendation would be stop using the scripted section to sell your story. First thing first, decide what basic story you want to tell. One sentence way broad overview. From your synopsis I can’t tell if yours is a thieves guild campaign (a Scarface-like tale of criminal ambition), a stop the end of the world epic, or his-majesty’s-special-agents campaign. Second, decide the arc of the story (again in broad strokes) and set milestones you want the story to hit: ex infiltrate thieves guild, recover epic sword, confront apocalypse cult, rescue king, stop ritual to end world. Once you’ve got the narrative down, then you can start looking at mechanics like specific traps and encounters. Very important for this stage is deciding the level of play you want to run. What level will you start at; you don’t have to start with 1st level characters. What level do you want to end at, not all campaigns have to run to level 20. At that point you can start determining rough EL levels for portions of your story, and even rough out individual encounters. In my experience, at this point the story and encounters start to write themselves. Sometimes the situation will dictate for you (party level 7 crossing a frozen tundra = Remorhaz), sometimes you’ll have to shoehorn in an encounter that you really want to run (the gypsy caravan is actually a traveling band of wererat ninjas). Source books to use, you can start with the SRD, but a good source for traps is the Book of Challenges (WotC). There are also some decent third party materials printed out there. For creature encounters, I’d recommend all of the monster manuals, but don’t scimp on the environment books (desert, arctic, aquatic, city).

As for inspiration, steal it. If you don’t know what you want, rip off books and movies. I’ve used a dwarven Diomedes (the Illiad), a sand giant Col Windham (Sharpe’s Company), and flat plagiarized Archibald Cunningham (Tim Roth in Rob Roy) for a swashbuckler/duelist nemesis. As long as your not publishing, its fair game to be “inspired” by others work. Heck, look for PDFs of existing scenarios and adventures and take what you need from there. Just make sure it all serves the larger story.

Glass Mouse
2010-04-14, 12:34 PM
Hi deephelldragon,

It seems like you have cool ideas, but... Yeah, I wouldn't want to play that campaign.
Now, I'll be the first to admit that I hate railroading with a passion, and I don't know your players at all. I've known players who were fine with never having a choice, with having their characters' reactions narrated by the GM, with just being there to witness a cool story and throw jokes... but they are a rare breed.

Personally, I'd probably start trying to derail a plot like that (at least for a few sessions, until I left the group). Yeah, I'm childish like that.

A few DO NOTs:
- Don't tell players how they react (No, don't tell them they've got a puzzled look on their faces... You have no idea if the player's barbarian will go, "PUNY MAN INSULT KRONK'S HONOR! KRONK SMASH PUNY MAN RAAAAGHH!")
- Don't let an NPC save the PCs from a fight that they're scripted to lose. It's just... horrible. I mean, one thing is losing because of bad luck or bad decisions. But losing because the GM wanted an NPC to look cooler than you... that's harsh.
- Don't expect players to like (or, god forbid, talk to) an NPC just because you want it so. Players will hate NPCs that you love, they'll ignore crucial NPCs, and be all around annoying. Always have a backup plan for when the PCs don't bite.

In any case, I think you should start your GMing career off with a single-session plot. Something simple.
E.g. (spoilered for length)

You're in an inn. Suddenly a worn-out farmer bursts in and collapses on the floor.
He's woken up (if the players don't, the barmaid will take care of him).
When awake, the farmer tells the tale of how he and his family were just living peacefully, when a band of bandits raided the farm. They took off with his daughter, and now he just doesn't know what to do with himself.
If the players don't offer their help, have someone peg them as adventurers and plead them to rid the area of the bandits.
Let the PCs figure out how to find the bandits. (if they're completely lost, have someone escort them to the farmer's home, where they find a trail).
(Maybe have the bandits have a spy in the inn. Said spy ambushes the PCs as they leave the inn, and is hopefully defeated).

Sketch out the terrain where the bandits are (bonus points if you can make the terrain tactics-friendly), and decide where to find the leader and the farmer's daughter.
Stat out the bandit leader and a few interesting people.

Sit back and watch the PCs win the day.

Remember treasure.

Have backup notes. E.g. "if the players screw up, have the bandits take them captive (you could develop a whole "selling PCs as slaves" storyline from there)". "If the PCs kill the leader, the others surrender/one guy seizes the opportunity/etc." Just backup notes, though, for the most predictable outcomes. They'll surprise you, either way.

Or anything else. You can probably make something a lot more cool than this. Just, generally, don't plan out solutions. Your players won't catch the most obvious, and they'll crack the most impossible. They're tricky things, those players.

You'll learn A LOT from a one-shot session. Believe me.



Edit:
If you're dead set on doing this campaign as the first thing, I've gone through the whole thing and pointed out the holes I found via reading. Sorry if it's harsh, but better now than during game time, right?


"Yes master, I do have the item that you asked."
- Some whispering from across the room.
"Yes, they have no idea what we plan on using this for. I think even if they got someone they could not get close enough to us."
- Some more whispering.
"Yes i know not to get too cocky."
- Some more whispering.
"As you wish, master. I will carry out your orders they will fall to us."
Cool intro. (see, I know how to be positive, too)


(back to the characters)

The players are sitting in a bar and are having a drink when in comes a guy they recognize as a man they had all meet before. He seems to want to go to a back room without being seen. The players will want to know how they know the guy. Are you willing to tell them already?
(ask the players what they want to do)
"Hello friends! I do not have time to talk right now, but if you wait until I'm back we can talk some more and catch up." Don't expect them to want to talk. Maybe they'll just ignore the guy, or wait for his initiative. You shouldn't expect certain reactions.
(so as the players are waiting another guy recognizes them and comes over)
"So we meet again, and this time i will not let you escape!"
(with a puzzled look on your faces) "PUNY MAN INSULT KRONK'S HONOR! KRONK SMASH PUNY MAN RAAAAGHH!"
"Don’t tell me that you don’t remember you slept with my daughter!?"
(again you have a puzzled look on your faces) If no Kronk, then expect the party pally/bard/rogue/cha-based person to Diplomacy angry farmer into submission.
"Now draw your weapon or die a coward!"
(level 5 fighter) A quick fight is always a nice way to start of a session. Just be prepared for the lucky critical or Hold Person that ends the fight with the players winning.

After the fight:
"NOW do you wish to beg for your life? It probable won't matter - I will kill you anyway." Meh. This is just the GM being mean.

(you hear a door open and out comes your friend)
"Halt! There most be a mistake here, why are you attacking my friends?!"
- "They had sex with my daughter and I'm going to kill them."
"When did this happen?"
- "About 5 years ago."
"I can say that none of them did that because they were with me in my kingdom."
- "What do you mean, "your kingdom"?"
"I am King Bronten and I am king of Zarbina. They were out doing a quest for me."
- "Oh, sorry guys I did not know... you all just look a lot like the guys that raped my daughter. If you ever need my services I will be more than happy to help you out and sorry again for attacking you like this." And this is just pouring salt into the wound. You have to be so incredibly you-don't-even-believe-it careful when having NPCs do the PCs job. Spotlight is a treasured thing.
"That may come in handy right now because I was just about to ask them to go do a quest for me so they may need you for this."
- "Great, thanks for doing this for me I will give you a ride back with me. Meet me at the edge of town at 5:00 pm in two days."
(let the players decide what to do) The players would probably appreciate it a lot more if they were allowed to decide things that actually matter. As a minimum, have the king ask them whether or not they want the farmer's apologetic assistance.

(come 5:00 pm have the players meet the king on the edge of town)
"Hello my friends! I hope that you had a pleasant couple of days to yourselves. Well my friends let us get going to the kingdom of Zarbina."
(let the players make last decisions)
You go for about 2 months and finally reach the kingdom of Zarbina. When you make it there, you find that the kingdom looks ok, but does not look like it is the highlight of the world. It has 2 islands named little and big salt. The king of the other kingdom thought that this was funny because one of his knights wanted to be more, so the king made him king of the island thinking that there was nothing there, but there was a diamond mine located there that made this one of the riches kingdoms in all the lands, thus making the king want this island back but the new king already had a castle set up, so when the king tried to come and take it the new king had people trained called the "salt snipers". They where the best shots in all the land with the new weapon named the dwarven rifle.
So, when the king tried to take back the island, he was defeated badly. Not a single salt was lost but most of the kings men were dead.
With his head low he left defeated back to his kingdom.
Cool background story, if a bit unbelievable. Meh, it's fantasy, it's all good.

Now our heroes show up and see about 30 armed salt snipers on the wall, each looking like they had killed a man and are not afraid to do it to them, in fact, it looks like they would rather shoot them then let them come in to their town, but they let them in anyway. I'm reminded of the time I described a building as having a second floor that "looks like a tower... but it's not really a tower". My players harped on me for confusing them. (not really an important point, I just felt like writing it)
On the boat with them is a man, his wife and a newborn child that has pure white, like a snowy white, hair. His mother tells you that he is a special boy, he was born in what she calls a hot air balloon far up in the air when they were shot down and got caught on a statue only to be rescued. You're not sure the PCs will talk to these people. At this point, maybe they're tired of descriptions and just want to get to the action.
You find out that the king is a very curious man he is what this land calls a scientist. You think he is some type of wizard but are not sure. He tells you that the man is a top salt sniper and the woman is a very good scientist, they even have there own place near the palace. Then you hear a shout from one of the salt snipers that there is a great big beast coming out of the water and that it plans to do us harm. You peer at the water. It looks calm, then it breaks out into a string of long tentacles that are attached to a 20 foot long fish, but it says to you all:
"Stop do not shoot! I meant you no harm, I just came to deliver a message to (say a players name). I am here to say that you are the only one that will most likely be successful on this quest. You will most likely loose one or more party members but to stop the one you love from being hurt will you sacrifice yourself... or will you complete the quest and leave her to die all alone? It is your choice, but I compel you to pick wisely. That is all that I have to say, I tire of this place. I am going back to my lake now good bye and good luck.”
Again, if you're unlucky, Kronk will go into a rage and start attacking. Cool idea, though - I wish my GM would throw in a prophecy. Just remember to have an idea why on earth Fishy knows such a thing.

So after the encounter with the mystery fish you guys have an uneventful journey back to the king's land.
“Come my friends, let me show you the reason that I have called you back here again for some more assistance. The king shows you what looks like a case that held the worlds biggest gem.
(dc 20 knowledge check to find out that it is the star ocean diamond) Why a check? Couldn't they just ask the king? Be careful with the pointless dice-throwing (like the GM who told me, "Eh, just keep rolling until you succeed"). It comes across as... well, pointless.
”This used to hold our most prized possession. It was stolen from us by the krildraga. The quest that I give you is to sneak into there, get back this gem, kill the leader and, if you can, burn down the place that they are at with the rest of them inside. We cannot let it be known that this gem was stolen, so I also want you to find a list or find out all of the people inside of this guild of thieves. If you need anything just tell me. Myself and my troops are at your command.
(the king bows to you all)
Cool, nice, classic plot. I approve. Just remember to make it worth your players' while (promises of treasure usually does the trick).

(once they are all into the thieves guild)
"Congrats you guys have made it into the guild. But that is all to show me that you will be a good part of this guild, you must steal something that is very valuable to me. You must steal a magic sword that belonged to my grandfather. I will be sending 5 of my people with you to make sure that you do this as I asked you to. Now go until you complete this. You should avoid the thieves guild halls." Sure, why not? It's a little bit recycling but still seems cool enough. I just wonder... weren't the players supposed to kill the guild, not look for employment?
(let them know where the sword is and that it is dangerous to go there and try to steal this sword)
“So he wants you to go and steal the sword of (sword name)? If he really wants that then I am scared for all of us and for the world, for with that sword you are able to do terrible things including summoning the "Elder Of Evil". If he summons them, then the whole world is at risk. That sword, even though they hate it, is the only thing that can control them to do the wielders will, but if the wielder becomes even the slightest bit distracted, he loses control of them and can not do so again. So if you can make him lose control, then you can take over and make them go back and never visit again. Then you must destroy the blade, but first give it to him. Find my gem then all will fall into place. But be cautious, I don't want you to be killed so I suggest you go and visit the armory."
I simply don't understand this. I'm guessing there's a lot missing here... at the very least some instructions as to who's talking. Also... wtf? There's a sword. It can be used to summon ultimate evil(tm). It's very difficult to control. So, obviously, the players should hand it over to evil guy(tm).. then make him lose control? I'm obviously missing something here...