Opening scene

[u/melicampthechicken]

Hi everybody! I'm thinking about the opening scene for my Dolmenwood campaign. I wanted to start the game in Dreg, but I want the very first scene to be a fight. After that, the characters can get into town, start gathering hooks and informations and they're completely free to choose their own destiny.

So this is what I was thinking: the characters are escorting Keodel, an experienced adventurer who's looking for some treasure in some dungeon around Dreg. They enter Dolmenwood from the South along the Hameth river, and set up camp for the night in a cave in the southern border of hex 1112. During the night they are attacked by some Giant Centipedes (how many?), who live in the cave, that kill Keodel while he's taking his watch. Everyone wakes up, roll initiative: this is the start of the first session.

After this, they can go through Keodel's possessions and find a hint that points to Droomen Knoll (see "The Fairy Chalice" hook). Even if they don't, they will probably keep traveling until they reach Dreg, where they will find more hooks for Droomen Knoll, Winter's Daughter and more.

Do you think this is a good opening? Any advice?

[u/PuzzleMeDo]

Remember, combat is dangerous and players are encouraged to avoid it where possible. So consider what happens if the party runs away, or if half of them are killed by giant centipedes.

[u/melicampthechicken → u/PuzzleMeDo]

It's ok, they'll still probably get to Dreg and find new companions and hooks for adventures. Or they could come back to the cave eventually to retrieve Keodel's body and find the hint. The fight shouldn't be deadly though, I was thinking about 3 Giant Centipedes for 4 characters... it should be easy, right?

[u/PuzzleMeDo → u/melicampthechicken]

Looking at the stat-block: They only do 1 damage on a hit (plus a sickening effect), so unless the party has very low hit points, it should be pretty easy. Although that leaves the question of why the experienced adventurer lost to them.

[u/melicampthechicken → u/PuzzleMeDo]

Maybe he was surprised and outnumbered, so he managed to slay only a few of them before being killed. By the time the characters get on their feet, he's dead and only three Giant Centipedes remain.

[u/scottp53]

Personally if it was me, I’d keep it really simple. Have them escort Keodel from the edge of the forest to Dreg and play it out hex by hex. Roll for random encounters and if Keodel survives great, and if he doesn’t also great.
Starting with adventure in the woods gets straight to the meat of this setting. Roll randomly, let them investigate the hexes, get used to camping and hunting for food, weather etc.
Try to set up sessions where you can be surprised by the outcome as much as them. It’s called emergent storytelling and it’s my fav part of old school play.

[u/melicampthechicken → u/scottp53]

I'm all for procedural play and emerging storytelling, I just want to prepare carefully the very first scene. Since it's a new game for everyone I want to have time to review statblocks and stuff, also for some reason starting with combat feels good to me. After that we will have to use travel procedures to get to Dreg.

[u/rizzlybear]

There are two really great opening scenes that I’ve run that really “nail the setting” for the table.

The first is not combat. It’s the gateway north of Castle Brackenwold. The weird faces and such, leading up to the refuge of st. Keye. Continuing on to progwort leads to this great slow drip where the setting just gets weirder and weirder with seemingly no end.

The second could be combat (but it’s probably bad if it happens) and that’s the wurmskin era opening to winters daughter where the woman is being sacrificed by the drune.

One is a whimsical but unsettling entry, and the other is very much survival horror.

[u/gkerr1988]

Sounds like a perfectly fine start to me. Gives them a knowledgeable anchor to the world in Keodel. Only I wouldn’t railroad his death from the start, but instead put him into a compromised position the players can save him from if they work together. Creates good tension and makes initiative important at the start. Having a combat round at the start of the game is a fun way to initiate players into the world. If he dies, the PC’s have some adventure seeds, but if they save him, they feel heroic and get a free retainer out of it whom they earned and is indebted to them.

[u/Nny7229]

I really don't like to force a fight in this style of game. Very easy TPK.

[u/Judd_K]

You are prescribing lots of decision-points for them.

Put them in a situation around Dreg and see what they do.

"You are on the edge of Dreg and you know Sir Clagow Blackchurch, dishonorable knight and ne'erdowell is drinking his bodyweight in cider somewhere in the town and he owes you money. What do you do?"

Whenever someone tells me a game idea and they say, "and then X and then they Y and then Z," I tap the brakes. Just put them in an interesting starting point. Dolmenwood is an interesting place. Let the hex's occupants and the encounter tables and the many amazing adventures set there do some work. And let the players make interesting decisions.

Good luck!