My group started this on Monday, we played a 5 hr session, and they have cleared the boat of goods, set up a base camp, and began building a series of cargo rafts.
Ranger - Human, profession soldier
Fighter - Half-Orc, profession soldier
Sorcerer - Human, profession sailor, feat skilled driver (water)
Wizard - Elf, profession engineer (ships)
They do not plan to get to shore, instead their general view of the island from the map, and observation, they scored a 26 on their knowledge check for Shiv information, they have decided to cross the bay to the silent island.
Their logic is sound, it puts them far closer to the rumored lighthouse. They do not even plan to stop on the silent island, unless they have to.
I plan to have a storm kick up and force them ashore, or I'm thinking of it, I've also considered something in the water, but the trip itself is barely 2 miles from beach to island.
I don't want to stand in the way of logic and planning, but I'm not sure I should let them get too far inland at first level...
Thoughts?
I say let their plan work.
However; it takes time to build a series of rafts. With having to maybe salvage wood from nearby wrecks, the cutting down of trees, gathering of vines to bind the raft, gathering enough food for the short term, and other things that would make a fair racket, it would be easy enough to have a fair number of random encounters be drawn in the area to give them some experience and maybe at least be into second level.
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A couple other options:
1) Let them build thier raft, soaking up some xp on random encounters as daemonprince said. Then when they're almost done... you know those snappy lobster critters that woke them up? Mommy and daddy come looking for them. And they might have brought the whole extended family. Drive the PCs away from their raft with a horde of creatures coming out of the surf. They then rip up the rafts for nice nesting material (or just out of anger).
The PCs can either start over on their raft, or head inland.
This is kind of a heavy handed approach and I don't like using encounters that the PCs *have* to run away from. It can backfire in a hurry.
2) Are the PCs attached to the other castaways at all? While the PCs are off gathering supplies for the raft, have a cannibal raiding party hit the base camp. Take some prisoners that they'll eat at the grand ceremony during the next full moon. Make sure to leave tracks into the interior of the island and the game trails running through the island.
Either they continue with their raft and leave the castaways to their doom or they head in following the cannibals. Make sure the full moon is far enough away so they have a chance of reaching the far side of the island but close enough so that they know they can't do the rafts and then rescue.
Optional: if you don't want to attack the PCs camp, have the cannibal scouts jump one of the castaways on guard or hunter duty and drag them off. Find the tracks after the fact.
Just some ideas.
Hum, I like a lot of this, both ideas. I'd like to let them finish the rafts, I think it was a good plan on their end, and while I thought about adding a random encounter, I'd prefer not to destroy the rafts.
Perhaps, as you said, a cannibal raiding party. And I like grabbing a castaway. They don't have a LOT of love for them yet, but they do see the value of the cleric seeing as they have no specific healing themselves. This gives them a reason to care AND a sacrifice if they opt not to.
Thanks!!