I am DMing a new game soon and am having some trouble figuring out the details of the first adventure. The overall story arc will involve an undead plague spreading and the PCs fighting off an undead army and eventually (around level 4 or 5) confronting and defeating the Cleric of Urgathoa who is responsible and curing the plague (or stopping it from spreading further at least).
My idea for the hook to the first adventure is that the PCs take a job from an eccentric alchemist NPC who wants them to track down the source of a strange blight that is afflicting the flora and fauna of the land in order to develop a cure. I don't want the players to know right away that this will necessarily lead to a longer story arc.
I had thought about sending them around the countryside to gather samples of blighted animals, plants, earth and water. However, that seems like an adventure that will be mainly comprised of random encounters out in the wilderness with no real "boss" encounter at the end. I would much rather send them into a dungeon with a somewhat linear focus, a clear goal at the end and a memorable encounter with some villain or monster.
I also don't want to use undead much at this stage of the game because that will be a large focus later on. I would like them to have some variety in creature types they face.
Do you have any tips on getting this story to work? Perhaps a way I can turn my "collecting samples" idea into a more cohesive adventure? Or perhaps a way to get them to a dungeon where they might find the source of the plague in the area without shutting it off completely. The ultimate source is the aforementioned cleric and I want the plague to spread and the situation to worsen as the story progresses.
Send them to a cave, in the back the discover a "secret" door to a dungeon. It is believed that after the dungeon they cured the issue, latter they find they did not
Ok, so what I would do is have a specific plant/tree in the center of the blight that is clearly diseased. As the party approaches it, they either discover an entrance to a tunnel complex that leads under the tree/plant or they break through a soft spot in the surface and fall into the tunnel complex (basically, if your party thinks to look for potential traps or not). The blight in the area is having an effect on some of the local fauna, either from feeding in the area or just the nature of the corrupting magic. Populate the dungeon with low level plant types, burrowing animals, and maybe low powered fae. You can make some things that wouldn't normally be a challenge, like for instance rabbits, by using advanced and giant templates which are due to the corruption of nature.
At least that's what initally sprang to mind at 8AM.
How about sending them to a small village that's a decent way off and off the beaten path; the alchemist heard there's some sort of strange blight around the region that, though it is a pain for the village, is supposed to have some very interesting magical properties. As they get closer they start encountering blighted hostile animals and then they finally make it into the village... have you played Resident Evil 4? Remember the opening village? I would say do that; don't make them undead, just blighted humans. Maybe Color Blighted template on commoners? They could perhaps encounter (but obviously not fight) a Color out of space, the source, so they could spread the word but not defeat it alone.
Perhaps the samples are more than meets the eye, and the collectors end up getting the strange disease as well and the alchemist, who obviously knows a way to deal with it, sends them off to go find some way to at least slow it down until they can find a straight up cure
Maybe the anti-toxin's whereabouts or origin give some hint to the "strange illness's" cause
These are all good ideas. Thanks a lot for your timely responses.
When designing adventures like these, I usually work my way backwards from the bad guy back to the party, story first, encounters later.
My take in this case; you could have an abandoned mine, a cave complex, or an old ruin somewhere in the wild function as the BBEG's hideout, and as such the epicenter of the blight. In order to find a center, you need to define and map the edges. Near the epicenter, the Cleric's undead forces will increase in power and concentration; the further away from the source you go, the more lively the encounters get. Don't be afraid to use normal creatures corrupted by the blight; fiendish animals work wonders, for instance. These corrupted beasts plus the blight might be what prompt the alchemist to hire adventurers to find the source, but maybe before meeting with him, the PC's can have a taste of what's happening.
So turning that backwards: the PCs hear of an alchemist in need of adventurers to gather evidence and data. On their way, they cross the edge of the blight and fight some angry forest animals. The alchemist hires the PCs to map the extent of the blight, then to work their way inward to find - and possible, remove - the source. The outer edges still have angry animals, but once the party travels inward, they start encountering fiendish animals, then undead animals, then humanoid undead. Finally, they come to the BBEG's lair, confront him, take him down, take his riches, have some tea and biscuits, the whole enchilada.
As for length: one, two sessions eh? You'll have to go two, with about 3 combats per session. You need - at minimum - the BBEG fight, one humanoid undead, one animal undead, one fiendish animal, and at least two or three angry animals - that's 7 combats right there.
Hope this helps!
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