After reading through the entire burnt offerings and Skinsaw murders booklet, I was thinking of starting the players off at level 3 just after the goblin attack. I'd start them off by saying they have newly arrived in the town and had just protected it from the goblin attack yesterday. Then we'd commence with local heroes. I feel that the events in local heroes is particularly important as it allows the players to become well acquainted with the NPCs that become very important in Skinsaw murders. I'm not too worried about their levels, as I think that instead of rewarding xp I'll adjust their levels according to their plot progression, taking them to forth level just before the boss fight at Thistletop.
thoughts?
one thought: Aldern Foxglove.
make sure to introduce him early. skipping the goblin attack means he has no motivation to go boar hunting with the group. so come up with another
I had my first season yesterday, allowing my players to explore the town and ended with Aldern's boar hunt. The motivation for the hunt was that the heroes saved Aldern the day before and wishes to reward them. The session went well and the boar hunt was a good tutorial for one of the players who was completely new to the game. At the end of the session, I think that the players are getting a good feel of the town and Aldern especially.