An Epic Start to An Epic Campaign

[magispitt]

So I've been trying to browse the message boards looking for alternate starts to the Kingmaker campaign, but haven't found any. Does anyone know of some other threads or ideas to starting Kingmaker besides simply having the players start right at Oleg's?

-details, juicy details

Thanks in advance!

*Edit: So far I'm thinking of starting them off in Restov, being assigned the charter from the mayor. I've fleshed out the other three parties (namely the Iron Wraiths, the Varnling Host, & the Royal Horde) a bit and hope to introduce them early so that books 3-5 aren't a surprise. I've been debating a tournament to earn the charter, but I don't want to leave anything to chance. Another thought I had was a chance gambling scenario but it feels too railroaded & lacks player agency.

Gambling Scenario:

Where the Iron Wraiths have a charter to explore the stolen lands in its entire, but the Varnling Host & the Royal Horde want a piece of the action. They agree to try to get the Iron Wraiths drunk so that they can get some of the charter, but also secretly plan to get each other drunk as well. The Iron Wraiths see this happening, but to avoid suspicion drink as well so that the Royal Horde & the Varnling Host get drunk as well. The result is that when the player party comes in they are able to nab some of the charter, & each group ends up with one piece. The Iron Wraiths are ambivalent about the situation, as they realize they were foolish for allowing themselves to be drunk with the charter, but the other parties are a bit more bitter about it, because they wanted more.

The final thought I had was to just keep it simple, & have the PC's gathered along with the other parties in front of the Mayor to be granted their charter.

*Edit#2, Lemme know what you think of the parties (as of writing I'm almost done the Royal Horde, have ideas for the Iron Wraiths, & am barely done one character from the Varnling Host {Maegar Varn}), I'm using mythic in my campaign but am otherwise either: using the stats presented in the book, or starting them a level similar to what the PC's should be when they enter that area

[Spatula]

I've seen at least one DM say that they started in Restov with the handing out of the charters, so that the PCs could meet the other groups.

I wouldn't have any sort of random chance whether the PCs get the charters or not, as that's basically opening up the possibility that some/all of them don't get to participate in the AP. Instead I would ask the players how their character ended up with the charter.

[magispitt]

Wow fast response thanks! Yeah I'm leaning away from leaving it up to chance for the reasons you said, so I'll likely just start with the handing of the charter. Feel free to audit the parties if you like, I'm still working on them a bit - the Royal Horde should be done now though, and is the one that explores the Hooktounge Slough (book 4).

*Edit: Maegar Varn of the Varnling Host should be all done now

[magispitt]

Boom! Just found this. I could have the Royal Horde & the Varnling Host fight each other in a tavern, & have the PC's do what they want: if they help out either side that side is more friendly towards them, if they choose not to help out at all the Iron Wraiths come in and settle things down. Thoughts?

[Philip Knowsley]

You might want to search for Venture Capital - a deal with the devil...
That has some stuff for the book 1 - 2 transition, but which could be used
earlier to set the scene a bit better.

Also check out Redcelt's game of thrones for ideas, & Dudemeister's stuff.

For myself, I had my Players go on an adventure into the wilderness with a
friend of theirs, & he needed his butt saving - which the players nicely
accomplished.
Once back in Restov, then the NPCs uncle approached the PCs to say thanks &
to invite them to the handing out of charters party. At the 11th hour, the
group who was supposed to get the Stolen Lands charter were out of the
running, so the uncle sponsored the PCs into it.

At that same party, the Iron Wraiths were already out & on the job in the
borderlands of Pitax. Irovetti was set up as a potential threat, as he
appeared in a 'sending' telling the Swordlords not to mess with his lands,
& throwing down a shield with the Wraiths insignia on it - then the spell
ended & uproar ensued...

[RobRendell]

Dudemeister posted a series of party-alignment-specific "origin stories" for starting Stolen Lands. They might be of interest as alternative ways to kick off the campaign. He has other interesting ideas in the thread too.

http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2kpjz?My-Kingmaker-Toolbox

[Andostre]

Having GMed a version of Venture Capital and having it take place in Restov, it's hard for me to call such a scenario "epic." I think the politics that I tried to infuse (among other things) was too involved for some of the players. I also think a sandbox-style game isn't right for my group, so I've moved away from that.

Consider giving the party an emotional investment in wanting to tame the land.
• Perhaps they were captured by and just escaped the Stag Lord.
• Perhaps they tried and failed to rescue a friend captured by the Stag Lord.
• Perhaps the party takes the place of Oleg and Svetlana, and the bandits start trying to shake them down.
• Perhaps they all start receiving visions from Erastil, Jhod Kavken style.

Start with any of these scenarios, and then have them fall afoul of the Stag Lord (to start with), and then have Brevoy hear about their efforts to counter the bandits and decide to offer the party exploration and later settlement charters.

[Gargs454]

When I start up my KM campaign my world is going to be a bit different from the standard, so this may not work as well for you.

That said, my idea is to have the PCs start out as Gladiator-slaves. They are brought into the arena for part of a big gladiatorial event designed primarily to result in the death of a high profile enemy of the state (not Brevoy, different nation). That "enemy of the state" is probably going to be Maegar Varn, or else somebody very close to the Swordlords. The party will then end up helping said "enemy" not only survive but will also escape with them (coordinated with a raid conducted by the "enemy's" friends). A bit convoluted I know, but basically in my world, humans will be a minority faction who are highly ostracized in many parts of the world. The end result will be that in exchange for their help, the party will receive one of the charters.

I realize that basing the award of the charter on a successful combat has its own inherent risks, but that is also where the GM Screen can come into play -- especially if you have enough NPCs on both sides of the fight so that you can nudge the results in the right direction.

All in all, I want the party to be introduced to the other three charter holders prior to setting off for Oleg's as well. Give them some reason to get invested, etc. I probably will not introduce Irovetti until between books 1 and 2. Have the 4 groups called back to Brevoy to receive their new charters/kingdoms and at that point have the Iron Wraith shield thrown down.

[Corsario]

My take was to start at Restov. The players are groups of heroes hired to tame the Stolen Lands, but the campaign, in fact starts with a surprise. They are assigned a King from Brevoy.
And the King turns out to be a good guy.
And then he is murdered by Nyrissa.
You can see it at play here: Corsario's Kingmaker

[Andostre]

Corsario wrote:

My take was to start at Restov. The players are groups of heroes hired to tame the Stolen Lands, but the campaign, in fact starts with a surprise. They are assigned a King from Brevoy.

And the King turns out to be a good guy.
And then he is murdered by Nyrissa.

Oh, niiiice. Kudos.