First Adventure (The Newbie Family Chronicles)

[Mojomage]

Hi guys, me again. Thank you all who posted to my first thread. I admit I haven't had the chance to check out all the links/resources you posted am really eager to do so!

I hope it is okay to post this here, but essentially I am looking for some honest feedback on the process of running a game session for a D&D style fantasy dungeon game.

So here's a basic adventure concept I came up with and would like to know where/when/how I could make it more interactive for the players. The way my mind works is if I people can apply the practical skills to my own natural concepts then the how-tos will resonate with me a lot better.

Here's my adventure concept. Keep in mind I will probably be using a basic D&D/Microlite system.

Here it is:

This is a two-fold endeavor: I am challenging myself to be a clever first-time DM and also present a great first-time adventure to my kids.


Scenario: The PCs start off at an inland trade town (Bafman's Corner) that is renown for its popular magic shop ran by Morland Shademoor. He offers exceptional magical items at a very cheap cost (+2 magic weapons, rings, etc.)
The PCs are encouraged early on by innkeepers and locals to visit Morland's Magic Shop where they can buy awesome magic items for relatively cheap cost.
The PCs will also hear rumors of a devious devil causing havoc in the sewers of this nice little town. When they speak to the Mayor of Bafman Corner he will offer them gold up front for getting rid of the trouble in the sewer.

The thing is, Morland is a wizard who's made a pact with a demon. The items he promises to the Party are actually fakes. When the PCs use these items I (the DM) want to mae 'secret rolls' with 'secret modifiers' such as supposed +2 Magic Swords are actually -3 Swords.
I think the 'sewer dungeon' should actually be fairly easily, but allow the PCs to know that the equipment/items they bought from Morland's Magic Shop were phonies so that when they return from the dungeon they go to confront him.
But they learn that Morland has died(1) and now the Mayor is requesting that the PCs escort his funeral caravan to the closest city where a wizard burial ground is located.

(1) Morland died because he was suppose to provide the demon with a certain amount of heroic souls and failed when the adventurers end up surviving the dungeon after purchasing items from his shop.)


It would help me understand the DM and game session process a lot if you folks could tell me how this could or couldn't work as the starting point for an adventure. For example, as DM, I am allowed to decieve the PCs and make 'secret rolls' for phony equipment if it is part of the adventure's plot, right?

[Longes]

Here's what I see wrong with it:

The antagonist dies off-screen. The heroes should definitely have a chance to oppose Morland. If I were making it, the heroes would come back from the dungeon to confront Morland about the cheap crap he sold them, and combat would happen. When the heroes beat him, the demon appears and whisks Morland away, laughing how they'll never ruin his plan in the next city.
Sewer level. If you want it to be a dungeon, you can make a convinient mine near the town, or just use the labyrinthian slums. Going for the slums idea would allow you to add interactive elements to a mindless dungeon crawl.



For example, as DM, I am allowed to decieve the PCs and make 'secret rolls' for phony equipment if it is part of the adventure's plot, right?
Yes, yes you can. You can wear pants on your head, if that helps your adventure.

[Mojomage]

Here's what I see wrong with it:

The antagonist dies off-screen. The heroes should definitely have a chance to oppose Morland. If I were making it, the heroes would come back from the dungeon to confront Morland about the cheap crap he sold them, and combat would happen. When the heroes beat him, the demon appears and whisks Morland away, laughing how they'll never ruin his plan in the next city.
Yes! That would make the post-dungeon encounter more interesting!


Sewer level. If you want it to be a dungeon, you can make a convinient mine near the town, or just use the labyrinthian slums. Going for the slums idea would allow you to add interactive elements to a mindless dungeon crawl.


You baffle me here. What is the difference between doing a local sewer and a mine or a labyrinth? Aren't these all essentially the same thing? Although, I can see it more practical to include NPCs in 'slum' settings.






Yes, yes you can. You can wear pants on your head, if that helps your adventure.[/QUOTE]

[Mojomage]

Yes, yes you can. You can wear pants on your head, if that helps your adventure

Well, I did intend to wear my wife's pink thong as a 'face mask' but not until the second part of the adventure after the PCs successfully escorted the wizard's casket to the next city - I was going to play the part of the 'Masked Mage Coroner'.

[Longes]

You baffle me here. What is the difference between doing a local sewer and a mine or a labyrinth? Aren't these all essentially the same thing? Although, I can see it more practical to include NPCs in 'slum' settings.

Well, that's mostly my "sewer level reflex" speaking, trained by countless ****ty sewer levels in video-games.

[Mojomage]

Well, that's mostly my "sewer level reflex" speaking, trained by countless ****ty sewer levels in video-games.

In other words, an overused trope; cliche?

Perhaps I should go the Conan-esque route and place a cultist temple within the city?

[Longes]

In other words, an overused trope; cliche?

Not a cliche, no. Just that sewer levels have an uncanny ability to be crappy (Behold, I'm the greatest comedian!)

[Mojomage]

Not a cliche, no. Just that sewer levels have an uncanny ability to be crappy (Behold, I'm the greatest comedian!)

I can actually agree being that I just attempted to replay Diablo 2 and lost interest after reaching Act 2 - the first quest being a sewer dungeon and with my older wisdom my first thoughts were something akin to: REALLY? That's the best Blizzard could come up with?

Anyways, I have given your suggestion of letting the demon live and escape thought and think it would be neat-o to make the demon the major villain thus devising multiple adventures for the PCs to pursue him/her/it.

P.S. Once I have recovered from this unruly night of Mt. Dew and bourbon I will return the comedic challenge!

[Hopeless]

1) What if the wizard is actually the demon/devil in disguise?

This would mean when they get back to discover he's dead they can investigate and learn the closest thing the town has to a coroner has indicated the wizard has been dead for years and the Mayor is covering that up to avoid a massive backlash after all the settlement is renowned for that wizard's shop what happens when it gets round that the stuff he's been selling is not only cursed but in league with the devil... at the very least this could threaten to turn his settlement into a ghost town or worse...

2)Instead of -3 have them function normally (as +0) until they reach the devil's lair which is when their curse kicks in, however it only works inside the devil's lair not outside so you leave your PCs a fighting chance of surviving this predicament an example of this is the starting scene of Gamers 2: Dorkness Rising where the villain disables the cleric causing a tpk of the original trio's characters.

Traditional a cursed weapon can't be dropped once held so using the above gives them at least a way out even if its just that the curse only applies inside the devil's lair.

Hmm what if they end up discarding these weapons will they have their original weapons to fall back on or will the new weapons be bought with their old weapons used to lower the cost?

[Mojomage]

Hmm what if they end up discarding these weapons will they have their original weapons to fall back on or will the new weapons be bought with their old weapons used to lower the cost?

I was going to have the Mayor give the characters money upfront for taking care of the pesky sewer devils to encourage them to go buy stuff from the wizard - so they wouldn't have to sell their good equipment and can fall back on it once they realized they've got cursed equipment.

I also considered the possibility that the characters can reclaim their gold after defeating the wizard-demon so they don't feel cheated.



the Mayor is covering that up to avoid a massive backlash after all the settlement is renowned for that wizard's shop what happens when it gets round that the stuff he's been selling is not only cursed but in league with the devil... at the very least this could threaten to turn his settlement into a ghost town or worse...

That is a cool idea. Or perhaps the characters are still asked to escort the wizard's coffin to a nearby city for proper burial but on their way the demon awakens, using the wizard as a vessel, and escapes but not before conjuring some devilish fiends to keep the characters busy.

And now the characters must track down the wizard-demon and stop him. When the characters get to the nearest city they discover it infested with devils and fiendish monsters - perhaps too many for the characters to do battle with so they have to find a way into the city without being detected in search of clues to the wizard-demon's whereabouts.

[Twilight Jack]

You have some great ideas here, and a terrific hook for further stories.

As a purely practical matter though, this is a far better second or third adventure than it is a first. In the first place, magic items cost money, even when they're diabolic knock-offs sold at deep discounts. As beginning characters, the PCs won't be able to afford anything like that unless the prices are so low as to be a giant, glowing, neon red flag. To sell this plot hook to your players, they need to come into Bafman's Corner loaded down with a haul of treasure that they're just aching to spend. Preferably, they should be riding high emotionally on their early success as well. That means you need to give them a prior adventure in which they can have that early success.

Secondly, your original stated goal was to introduce the game to your 10 year- old son. I would be very careful about giving any first-time players (especially 10 year-old ones) a bunch of magic items on their first adventure, even if they are phony. My concern lies with the idea that when given a shiny enough hammer, every problem looks like a nail. Old school D&D is a game of exploration and solving problems. Give your son a chance to learn how to solve them with a 10' pole, a torch, and some hempen rope before you blind him with a fiery sword. I know that his stated interest so far is a goblin-cleaving monster mash, and you should give him what he wants, but that doesn't preclude learning to survive by his wits and a fistful of iron spikes.

Additionally, since you're planning to pull the rug out from under them when the items turn out to be cursed, you run a risk that your players will feel betrayed by you in an unfair way (which is a distinct feeling from their characters feeling betrayed by the wizard who set them up). That feeling is likely to be magnified the more the players rely on those items. Won't it be better if the players have already had the opportunity to develop a skill set upon which they can fall back when the fiery swords and magic rings turn against them?

So my advice is to design a nice, basic delve into a dark hole populated by rats and goblins. Sure, it's a cliche, but your son won't know or care. He will love it for being exactly what it is. Emphasize the importance of basic equipment like rope, spikes, and oil; keep track of the range and duration of their light sources; and include a few challenges that can't be solved by combat. Let them develop a basic skill set for adventure, free from shiny items or anything more than a rudimentary plot.

Then, once they've emerged from that hole dirty, bloodied, and laden with gold, throw them this most excellent curve ball you have devised. Their earlier experiences will allow them to better appreciate and overcome it.

[Delvin Darkwood]

Sheer brilliance

This whole post, a thousand times over. I was about to comment with mostly similar stuff, but i don't think it can really be put much more elegantly than this.

[Longes]

stuff

Here's a good idea! Sell those magic items reaaaaaally cheap. 10 year olds likely won't realize that this is suspicious, and will buy them. Probably he'll even sell his old equipment, or leave it somewhere in the town. Now, make sure that he has with him basic stuff -food, rope, torches, etc. Once the characters are in the dungeon, cheap magical stuff breaks (maybe it works for 1-2 blows as intended, to give taste of power), and for whatever reason they can't go back. Now they have to survive with the basic equipment they have, finding resources, and searching for the exit.

[Mojomage]

ere's a good idea! Sell those magic items reaaaaaally cheap. 10 year olds likely won't realize that this is suspicious, and will buy them.

This was my thinking also. The boy won't know enough about the DnD world to raise a brow at the cheap cost of magic items. Of course, I can also understand the big hammer making every problem look like a nail . . .

I also don't want to give the wrong impression that magic items are easy to come by as I believe they are one of the most sought out and prized treasures of an adventure. Granted, in defense of my adventure, these 'magic items' aren't really magical at all, just cheap knockoff duds.

Dilemmas abound!

On what may lead me to create a new thread, though, is the process of a simple dungeon creation. I've been doing my research and studied some of the classics - i actually found this page ([http://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=18710&start=35} but not entirely sure i follow the concept of 'map flow' other than it's a progress of linear/non-linear choices and the pacing/smoothness of those choices.

For a first-time dungeong crawl I would prefer to adhere to the KISS principle (Keep It Simple Stupid). Yet, I may be overthinking this process.

[Hopeless]

Could always be approached by the "wizard" who asks for their aid and as an advance he gives them the items so they can use it to fulfil his request... of course I'd just say they're enchanted not give them the exact bonus they're supposed to give so when the curse falls you give them a way out for example the curse on the weapon only applies within the devil's lair and they can ditch the cursed weapons once they're clear and it should be then be obvious their new weapons are +0, -3 in the devil's lair only (Or whatever minus you want them to have).