Need help for ideas for a first and second session

[Seplica]

Hi everyone!

So I had this idea for a first (and probably second session) to launch my players in the "adventuring world".
My players will start as level 1.
They will begin as soon-to-be graduates of an "Adventurers College". Anyone can be an adventurer, but graduating from the Adventurers College gives you perks, as you'll be a member of an adventuring guild giving access to diverse ressources.
The thing is: Only one group of adventurers graduates from the college each year, and that group is decided by a kind of tournament (think Goblet of Fire from Harry Potter).
So the first session will see the group as students, the day of that tournament, getting ready for the trials and actually doing them to try to be the adventuring party that will graduate.

One of the trial will be combat focused, I have 4 different encounters for 4 "finalist groups", choosen at random.
- 3 worgs
- 1 wood golem
- 2 giant spiders
- 2 scarecrows

I would like your advices as to how you would tweak these different encounters to have roughly the same difficulty levels. Ideas on the arena too, for exemple: The combat with the spiders would certainly take place in a kind of cavern full of spiderwebs, while the combat with the scarecrows would have them in a large field with the scarecrows blending with several regular ones.
The combats are supposed to be difficult. I don't mind TPKing them, as the teachers will be near to kill the creatures and heal them if needed. Points will be granted according to their strategy and overall performance.

The second trial will be a kind of escape room, a mini dungeon field with riddles and puzzles. The faster they complete it, the more points they are awarded.

I'd like a third trial being more of a moral or social thing, but I don't have any idea.

Lastly, I thought of making them play the others contenders for the combat trials, so they would fight each encounters but one of them only with they real PCs and the three others with random sheets I will give them before combat. As the characters are level 1 it shouldn't be too complicated to pick up on the spot.

What do you think? Do you have any ideas that could help me? Or maybe some of my ideas are rubbish? Let me know!

[Reach Weapon]

I don't think what you're describing is a good business model for a school (and because it might make some of your other issues easier), I'd adjust the competition slightly to be more of a combination of finals, class ranking and job fair. I'd also add a bit more time, so the party can investigate and plan around the various events and guilds on offer. This could also establish some long standing plot options around friends, rivals, and the attributes of one's employer.
I'd probably have the scoring and scores not be open, although the characters should be able to develop theories regarding how to do well. I'd also throw in opportunities for characters to engage in various levels of fair conduct in preparation.
I'd probably throw in some "intelligence test" style ridiculous puzzles, like having to construct a model of a wizard's tower out of blocks on a flotilla of rafts with agitated elephants on board, or move the mimic from one end of the rat infested sewers to the other.

[Kol Korran]

Good luck with yoye game premise, but Id like to offer some comments:
1. Having just one adventuring party graduate? What if the PCs fail? And if they cant fail (due to plot armor), where is the risk? Instead, I suggest that all can graduate, if they achieve a level of competence, and don't mess any crucial "tests" (I'll get to that soon enough). But there is also a reward for doing things well! Be it benefits in the guild, money, possibly some magic items? This way, even if the party doesn't out preform the other groups, they pass (and may be motivated to outperform the winning group)

2. Don't let them play the other teams! Where is the fun in that? Players want to okay their own characters, and get on with the game! Playing other characters for a short time serves no purpose. You, ad a DM, decide what happens with them.

3. The suggested tests, where they must pass very specific tests, "game introduction" style, sounds... frankly? A bit boring, and very limiting. Part of the fun of the game is to approach challenges in different open ended ways. Plus- if they are adventures, shouldnt the graduation test them in an adventure?

I'd suggest instead to make a conatained adventure, say on a small island that the adventure academy owns. The variois parties are sent to retrieve "treasures" hidden on the island. The island have various locals with clues, challenges and more. For each "treasure" the group retrieves, it gainss points. Some treasures may be worht more points than others. Also, there may be some hidden tests (How they treat the locals, how well they prepare, perhaps hidden treasures, and more).

4. You could easily include some moral dillemas. Annold favorite is a dillema of losing/ giving some of the prized treasures, in order to do something more moral/ good/, worthy. Some examples:
- The treasure is across a bridge. A guide brings them there, but dare not cross. When the party is half way through the bridge, harpies (or other befittong creatures, fall both on the treasure, trying to pick it up, and near the guide, attacking him/her! If the party helps the guide, the harpies will fly of with the treasure, if they go for the treasure, the guide may die.
- The treasure has some significent utility for island inhabitants (A flask of never ending water? A healing balm for the sick? Possibly a lost religious totem?) After they retrieve said item, will they realize and give it to the islanders? (If so- high scoring), if they don't, have an islander approach and ask them. (Still scoring if they give it back, but less than from their own volition).

5. I'd suggest to remove the "safety net"of the teachers over seeing things. If they seek to be adventurers, then they should accept the risks. Part of the test is also realizing and accepting the risk of death, maiming, and the potential ill fates of adventuring life. This little speech should be part of their preparation. You want to be real adventurers? Then this is what it takes.

6. I suggest to have the island be a little sandbox. Have some clues, have challenges in place but let the part figure out how to tackle and deal with them. The test need not be quick. Give the PCs a time limit: "At the next full moon, (2/3/4) weeks from now, you must be return to this port, with your treasures. Until then- You are on your own. Plan, explore, dare, and overcome! You come as students, you will return adventurers, or not return at all... May the gods be with you, but more than that- your skill, wits, courage and allies. Farewell!"

7. If you'd like a little twist, the island may have either the remains of old adventuers who didn't make it (bloodied pieces, undead, stone pieces near a cockatrice lair), or... actual old students who didn't make it and stayed on the island. Perhaps their actions/ morals/ attitudes marked them as "unworthy", perhaps they've broken some laws (killed members of another group?) or something else. And these ex- students learned to live on the isle, and truly despise the new students...

Good luck!

[Lacco]

I'd suggest looking at Burning Wheel's Thr Sword adventure for the last task. Where the party itself is the only thing standing between them and victory. Tweak to your satisfaction.

The adventure starts as the party reaches the legendary Blade - but only one can claim the Sword.
Each of pregen party members has a good motivation to get it and it's up to them to work it out. There is no timer, no enemy - but it shows them a truthful mirror.

For your task, I'd go with Doohickey of True Adventurer. Only one of them (or tcan claim it, and move on to get into graduation.

See how they solve it. Will one of them get it? Will they try to discuss or will they come to blows? What eill they do?

Regardless of the outcome, they will get to graduation if they can solve it together - if they cooperate, or are able to sacrifice, refuse to move on...

Depends what your ideal is. Self-sacrifice? Then there should be 3 thingamajigs per 4 players.

Or it can just serve to show them true character of the others.

[firelistener]

I recommend staying away from linking hard narrative plots to tournaments. I did this once, and my players lost an incredibly easy battle by making some really poor choices followed by worse rolls. I had to build out a completely alternative plot after the fact, and the loss really deflated their motivation to keep playing.

[KorvinStarmast]

Hi everyone!

So I had this idea for a first (and probably second session) to launch my players in the "adventuring world".
I'll suggest that you down load the free adventure from roll20, The Masters Vault (https://marketplace.roll20.net/browse/module/40/the-masters-vault), and play that. It's got a fine progression for the first two or three sessions, and it does include a mentor / teacher who has taught the PCs how to be adventurers. It includes plenty of RP chances.

[Catullus64]

My primary advice would be this: Have there be real and significant chance of failure. If the player's characters' don't win, don't fudge things to make them. If they lose, they have to forge their own path, without the resources of the college, and that can be plenty interesting.

I would also take this opportunity to set up a rival group of adventurerers who can act as secondary (or primary) antagonists. If the PCs win the trials, these rivals can be bitter at the loss, and become renegades that the PCs have to deal with. If they win (possibly by cheating), they can be smug and superior rivals with the weight of an organization behind them, while the PCs are the unlicensed renegades. It's good fuel for motivation either way.

[Mastikator]

When people know they're being tested on their morals they tend to act differently, so you need to either account for that or not tell them it's a test of morality. The morality being tested should reflect the morals the college aspires to.

The morality test could be baked into the other two tests, whatever morality you want to see could be tested in the battle and the escape room. (allow them points of advantage that requires that they betray the principles of the college). The principles of the college MUST BE STATED MULTIPLE TIMES, a "three principles you must always aspire to no matter what" thing over and over. Otherwise the players may feel miffed that they betrayed some principle that they didn't even know was a principle.

[PhoenixPhyre]

I've actually done a "graduation ritual" adventure from an Adventurer's Academy. I ran the same scenario with 3-4 groups, all entirely new to TTRPGs (and mostly to RPGs at all).

In my case, graduation was already assured--they'd passed all the tests. But what this ritual adventure determined was placement and rewards. Basically, do they get the good jobs, do they get the instructors' recommendation? Do they get some extra starting cash?

The framing was that the Academy had access to some really strong illusions (Illusory Reality style). Effectively a holodeck. They had three challenges; dying would drop you out of that scenario (and incur penalties); your total score depended on the entire cycle. And everything was scored as a team.

First Challenge
A straight-forward bandit fight with some at range, some melee, and an acolyte caster (plus an apprentice wizard if they had lots of people). Introducing them to spell casters, tactics, movement, and basic combat.

Second Challenge
They were escorting a heavily-expecting noble woman through a mountain pass. The usual bridge over a chasm (roughly 10' wide) had been destroyed by a rockfall, leaving only a tiny ledge. Their task was to get the woman (who had very little in the way of balance or physical ability) across the gap safely by whatever means they could figure out. Here, I was most looking for insight into how the party thinks. I'd accept any reasonable solution (with checks), but I wanted to see how they approached it. Most built a rope bridge (providing hand holds and stabilization) and tied people together. One group decided to throw the party member who was going to tie off the other side across, even though they could have jumped. That was a signal that the group would be...odd.

Third Challenge
They were presented with the entrance to a "dungeon" and told that their task was to retrieve the large goblet on the other side of a wall. That was the only thing--no bonus points for killing things, etc. The only criteria for success. The dungeon had two long (trapped) hallways, with doors entering either side of a large hall. One door was trapped. In the hall was the goblet, along with two animated armor (inactive), a pair of rugs, and several treasure chests. The trick was that the animated armor would only come alive (along with some animated weapons) if they tripped one of the alarm traps scattered around. The chests were traps; under the rugs were pressure sensors that set off the alarm. There were clear paths to go and grab the goblet without setting anything off.

On that last challenge I saw wide variation in approach. One group (made up of adults new to RPGs) was super paranoid and genre savvy--they found and carefully disabled all the traps they couldn't bypass and did it without setting off anything. One group just basically charged straight across and played keep-away with the animated armor, passing the goblet around and running for the door. One group decided to roll up the carpets to see what's under them. Without actually taking any care.

The big point of all of this was to introduce them to the various mechanics while also letting me see what kind of group they'd be. It was actually a pretty good predictor. I'd say that with a "regular" group (ie 3-4 hour sessions) you could do the whole thing in one session; it took my groups 2 because I was limited to 1-1.5 hours due to format (after-school club).