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I'm getting ready to run my 8 and 11-year old through their very first true Pathfinder campaign. To give them a good introduction to the game, I'm trying to come up with the most traditional, trope-filled series of adventures as possible, so they have a good foundational idea of what Pathfinder (and the D&D tradition) is about. I was hoping you all might help me come up with some items for the checklist I am assembling.
So far, here's what I've got:
•Start out in a tavern with some rat-slaying in the cellar
•Fighting goblins in a forest
•Exploring a ruined temple filled with undead
•Fighting trolls and lizardfolk in a swamp
•Exploring a wizard's tower full of illusions, puzzles, and a mimic
•An underwater sidequest with merfolk and sahuagin
•A foray into the underdark with drow
•A gelatinous cube at some point
•A dragon at some point
What are some other classic dungeons, adventures, encounters etc. I should include for their first real adventure? Thanks in advance for the input!
Crypt of the Everflame is a great first module.
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I would run a kingmaker style game. Something with an open world, where they are trying to explore and then settle a wilderness. That would give you free reign to put whatever kind of side quests you want into the game. Just create a hex map and let them point to a spot to go explore, with 'drow here' and 'undead head' and shauhaguan over there.
In terms of additional tropes:
1. Kobold death maze of frustration
2. Minotaur death maze
3. Defend a town/city from a force of rampaging orcs
4. Vampire and/or liche big bad evil guy.
5. Formerly sealed gates to the lower planes are being opened by cultists to release old ones, demons, devils or something else evil and extra planar.
6. Ship attacked by pirates. (possibly with a craken type encounter in there somwhere)
7. The need to go into a crazy inexplicable dunegeon full of all sorts of weird monsters to go retrieve a magical maguffin that the king needs to save the kingdom.
8. A combat tournament of some kind that attracts groups of the most capable warriors and mages from around the world.
9. Uncover, infiltrate and stop a thieves guild embeded in a city/town they care about.
10. Werewolves!
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Well I personally go about designing a game in a different fashion. Rather than disjointed individual encounters, the first thing I come up with is the overall plot/story.
So for cliche fantasy that would be something like evil wizard plots to take over the kingdom.
Then you can take the list of encounters you want to have, and string them into your tale. So kill rats in the basement. Discover clues that rats were sent by goblins (arguably kobolds are a more iconic D&D first level monster). Discover goblins are mercenaries for an evil priest leading to undead filled temple... etc.
D&D has evolved a lot over the years from the early days of deadly trap filled dungeon crawls to the current more story driven adventures.
Anyway, that all said, missing from your list is a section with portals and mephits, or some sorc of extraplanar foe.
On the shorter scale, Crypt of the Everflame is a great suggestion from GoatToucher.
If you're looking for a longer, full campaign arc, I think the Rise of the Runelords AP strikes almost all of the notes you're looking for.
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Classic stuff, I am doing the same thing with my 11 year old daughter and started with a tavern and rats in the basement followed by a hole in the wall that led to an abandoned temple/mine with kobolds.
What you still need:
1. An artifact or powerful magic item that must be recovered to either use or return to owner.
2. Giants
3. Forgotten city
4. Good old fortress on the edge of the wilderness as a base at some point.
edit spelling
All great suggestions. Thank you!
I will definitely be building a cohesive narrative around it and include both story-based, RP heavy sections as well as some classic dungeon-crawls. Trying to offer a mix of both the classic and modern styles.
Also, we've already done a few one-shots including Crypt of the Everflame, which went over very well. I've GM'd Rise of the Runelords for my adult group, but I think some of the subject matter might be a little too much for them at their ages, particularly in the 2nd and 3rd chapters.
Also, we've already done a few one-shots including Crypt of the Everflame, which went over very well. I've GM'd Rise of the Runelords for my adult group, but I think some of the subject matter might be a little too much for them at their ages, particularly in the 2nd and 3rd chapters.
Yea normally I would suggest rise of the runelords, but there is some serious adult themes in there, and in some cases, it will be hard to remove those without having to rewrite the story.
I think doing a kingmaker type game might be your best bet. Then even disparate encounters/adventures can be part of the same narrative of taming a wilderness and building a kingdom. Also gives your kids the chance to name things like rivers, towns and cities. Its always fun when kids name things.
Evil necromancer in dark tower with bats and skeletons.
Also, we've already done a few one-shots including Crypt of the Everflame, which went over very well. I've GM'd Rise of the Runelords for my adult group, but I think some of the subject matter might be a little too much for them at their ages, particularly in the 2nd and 3rd chapters.
Have you looked at Dragon's Demand? It starts in a small town with some action in a bar, a wizard's home, some dungeon crawling, and of course a dragon. It's actually a lot tamer than some of Paizo's adventures (such as RotRL), with a lot of small town heroic fantasy going on.
They also have the campaign cards to go along with it as a built in visual aid to help keep quests and NPC's in mind, which is extra helpful (IMO) for the younger players who attention can wander...and some adult players as well =p.