RoW Prequel

[Blackthourn]

I'm a big fan of giving the characters a solid background to the village in which they start the campaign. For instance, when we played Carrion Crown, I added the two third party publisher modules that helped flesh out Ravensgro and really gave the players a more thorough starting experience before they headed to Harrowstone prison.

Does anyone have any suggestions for this in RoW? Is there a Pathfinder module or PFS scenario that is easily slid in/over the start of the campaign to keep the players in Heldren a bit longer?

Thanks in advance.

[Luna eladrin]

Check out Tales of the old Margreve (Open Design/Kobold Press). It has 8 scenarios from levels 1 to 10 and has roughly the same feel as ROW (i.e. Russian-flavored fairytale scenarios).

[Blackthourn]

That looks very promising and has great reviews. Thank you.

[Luna eladrin]

We had great fun running Challenge of the fang. I ran it near Waldsby and added some extra wolves for flavor. I also linked it to the campaign themes. One of the best parts was that the sorcerer disguised himself as 'little red riding hood' in order to confuse the wolf.

[Ectar]

Blackthourn, did you ever end up doing this?
I also dislike the minimalistic motivation the adventure provides to get the PCs into doing stuff.

[Blackthourn]

Ectar wrote:

Blackthourn, did you ever end up doing this?

I also dislike the minimalistic motivation the adventure provides to get the PCs into doing stuff.

Sorry for the thread necromancy. But to answer your question, we have not started the campaign yet. I tend to prepare months in advance for my campaigns. We have to wrap up both Wrath of Righteous and Serpent Skull plus the new Seeker Arc (my weekly playgroup is all GMs and we take turns). We are in book 6 of both APs.

I did purchase that product and will be adapting both of the first two 'scenarios' into my campaign. I am starting the PCs as citizens of Heldren and I felt like the story took them away too quickly. I also wanted them to be 2nd level because Book 1 is somewhat unforgiving according to some threads on this board.

I'm also adding the Moathouse from the Village of Hommlet as an old Taldor fort from the dust ups with Qadira over a century ago that was destroyed and now the recent home of some goblins who kidnapped a few townsfolk. I'm hoping my playgroup recalls that module from their youth as most of us began playing D&D in the early 80's.

I will update in a few months once I've run those Margreve scenarios.

[Dhrakken]

I ran the challenge of the fang from the old margreve as well but I made as the black rider test. Its flavour blended in well with the AP.

Players don't look!:

When the black rider dies, the party is enveloped by crackling lightning energy and they pass out. Unbeknownst to them, they are transported to a dream world where they are to complete the challenge of the fang, once they complete it, they received the power of the black rider (which was also a geas in itself) and they each gained a level of mythic. If at any point they decide to not save Baba Yaga, they lose their mythic powers

[Ectar]

I've been using the "helpful corruption" rules for the mantle. A Stat boost seemed boring, but mythic too much.