I'm literally brand new at this. I have been a geek most my life but never had a chance to get into TTRPG. My 15 year old decided she and her friend wanted to play a TTRPG. As I can't guarantee a 4-man group I tried to put together a short easy Dungeon for them to run through as a 1 or 2 man group. It is supposed to be a small/quick, fun, one-off with no MAJOR rule hole in the middle of it. Just trying to give them a taste to see if they want to pursue playing. I was wonder if someone who has GM'd before or maybe wrote a campaign could take a look at it?
Sure. Do you have a link?
If you're new at this, though, I'm sure a bunch of us could recommend a dungeon or two of our own. Prewritten stuff can be easier to begin with.
Personally, I think the first floor of the Emerald Spire Superdungeon is great for a small group of newbies. There's even a fort with NPCs you can engage with, and then if your players enjoy it, there's like 15 more levels below the first one.
This thread may be relocated, though, because this is the Organized Play GM Discussion Forum. Although I'm not sure which Forum it may get moved to. Homebrew, perhaps?
I'll look into Emerald Spire, thanks. This really is most likely going to be a 2 man group. I'm thinking about running a GM PC just to tank because the kids want to play squishies.
I'll just post the whole thing below. It's only like 3 pages.
The Cabin
Waking up from a good night’s rest, you, adventurers set off to find the next town, in search of your next glory. The small path you have been following, for the last few days, was said to lead you to Norvak, the city of endless possibilities. However, you are beginning to think, maybe you shouldn’t have taken directions from the drunk trader in the last village. As you trudge forward you come upon a small dilapidated cabin.
If your adventures choose to ignore the cabin and continue on the cabin appears again after an hour as if they are walking in circles. This continues until they decide to explore the cabin. Detect Magic (DC10) will show a loop always leading back to the cabin.
The cabin has grey mud walls with a thatch roof containing a few holes. The door is ajar.
Upon entering the cabin, the smell is what hits you first. The very distinct smell of rotting flesh. The cabin has been ransacked. A table is over turned and what you assume was it’s contents are strewn across the floor. The fireplace is long cold. Slumped in the corner and covered in rats, you can just make out a body. One of the rats notice when your party fully enters the cabin. The rat shrieks and scurries through a hole in the floor below the corpse. The remaining Rats turn and look at the party. Their beady red eye and blood slicked fur glisten in the light filtering in from a hole in the roof. The Rats attack.
(Rats attack)
Once the adventurers have dispatched the Rats they are able to freely move about and explore the cabin.
Looking around the Cabin there is a disheveled bed in the corner. A turned over table and chairs in the middle of the room and a fireplace, and of course the dead body in the corner.
Inspecting the Table (DC 10 Perception) finds a Notebook and a wooden cup on the floor.
Inspecting the Fireplace (DC 10 Perception) finds the remain of a burnt notebook and a burnt ring.
Inspecting the bed (DC 10 Perception) While flipping the mattress the adventurers find a notebook and a Short Sword
Inspecting the body (DC 10 Perception) finds that the skin seems to be melting as if exposed to acid, exposing the skeleton below. However, the flesh doesn’t pool below the remains but instead looks to be dripping though a wooden hatch below the skeleton.
This notebook can be found on any successful Inspection above. The adventurers only find it once.
The last page of the notebook reads:
“I’ve figured it out! I’ve been stuck in this loop for what seems like days. I kept trying to escape but every time the cabin disappeared in the distance it reappeared on the horizon. There is something in the basement causing this. One night I could hear the whispers from below. I found the key, I’m going down to put a stop to this so I can finally leave this infernal place.”
The adventurers must move the corpse to access the hatch to enter the basement. While being moved a key falls from the corpse. The hatch is protected by a Acid Trap.
In to the Basement
You crawl through the small opening, descending the ladder into a cavernous room. Seemingly much larger than the structure above. There is a single torch casting an eerie glow around the expanse. There are two passageways diverting from the far end of the cavern.
Right Path:
A much smaller room, still dimly lit. There is a blood covered alter at the far end surrounded by bones. Scrawled on the side of the alter are runes. (DC 12 Religion) Show the runes say, “Arise and Feast for eternity my brothers” Searching the Bones (DC 12 Perception) produce a Dagger and Wand of Burning Arc
Left Path:
A narrow passageway
As the Adventurers walk down the passageway spiderwebs get more and more dense.
The narrow passageway leads to another medium sized room with spiderwebs covering the walls and almost no light. There are a few spider snacks entombed in the webbing hung from the ceiling. There is a spider waiting in the shadows at the corner of the room. If the Adventurers search the room (DC 12 Perception) they notice the spider. Otherwise, the spider surprise attacks when the Adventures attempt to leave the room.
(Scarlet Spider Attack)
The next room was once a large open cavern, but the ceiling on the far half of the room has collapsed, blocking any hope of knowing what was once beyond. The is nothing of note in the space. There is a passage to the right.
The Glowing Gem
This passage way opens into the largest cavern yet. Four large rune covered obelisks, tower around raised pedestal. The pedestal holds a blue glowing gem pulsing with power.
(DC 15 Wis, Knowledge) The obelisks say “Guardian or Protector”
In the background there are two Koblod that are worshiping the glowing gem. They have gathered stones and bones and built a small idol. The party is unable to reach the gem without alerting the Kobold. Attempt to reach for the gem cause the Kobold attack. The party can scare the Kobold away (DC 12 Intimidate) or talk to the Kobold (DC 12 Diplomacy) If either check fails the Kobold attack.
If the party talks with the Kobold they will find the Kobold believe that the gem is providing them with food by luring and trapping people here. The Kobold never kill the people just wait from them to die of “Natural Causes”. The party can convince the Kobold that they were also trapped and if they help the party they will be set free (DC 14 Diplomacy) or Intimidate the Kobold into helping them remove the curse by destroying the glowing gem (DC 10 Intimidate). If both attempts fail the Kobolds scurry away down a small dark hole in the back of the cavern, much to small for the adventurers to follow.
When the gem is removed from the pedestal the ground begins to shake. You are afraid the entire cavern is going to collapse on you head. The obelisks crack and suddenly turn to dust leaving one skeleton where each obelisk once stood.
(Skeletons Attack) Kobolds help with fight if still around
Once the fight is over the Kobold scurry away.
If the party chose to destroy the Gem small fragments are left scattered.
If the party chose to remove the Gem the glowing subsides and the Gem becomes a Unique Sapphire worth 100 -200GP
The party finds a small wooden chest that looks to have belonged to the Kobold containing wears from deceased victims. Make an item useful for each of the party members.
The cavern seems rather dull now as you make your way back out of the cabin. With the curse broken you can once again get underway to that glorious city... Were we supposed to take a Right or a left?
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Homebrew forum would probably get more interest for your adventure, since this forum is for pathfinder society gm discussion (and homebrew adventures aren't part of the pathfinder society).
That being said, a few notes: DC 10 is Really Low - all PCs start with at least 2 for perception (minimum 3 if they don't have negative wisdom) and maxmimum +9. Standard DC by level is 15 for level 1 stuff.
With 3 combats and some exploration, this sounds like it might take maybe 4ish hours to play depending on party and amount of RP/investigation. The 2e Beginner's Box adventure has very similar encounters, I'd recommend taking a look at that for ideas and comparisons.
Depending on how difficult the fights are, I'm guessing that this might reward maybe 1/4th or 1/3rd or maximum of 1/2 of a level in xp, 100gp reward is quite a lot of gold for a level 1 party for such an adventure.
I would suggest either giving party some recall knowledge checks to realise that they can just remove the gem (or maybe to learn a ritual to purify the gem) instead of just leaving it up to the players whether they want to smash it or not, OR, if you leave it to the players without giving them any way to know what they should do, make an alternative reward to compensate for the lost 100gp.
Kobolds are small, there are a few player ancestries that are also small: Instead of flat out stating that they can't be followed, maybe have a player who wants to follow to roll acrobatics and on a failure they don't fit in, on a success they can fit in but tell them that they realise that they would be in a situation where they are unable to defend themselves and if the kobolds are waiting for them, it'll probably end badly for them. (basically, giving the illusion of a choice but actually both results are "pls don't try to follow").
Moved to Homebrew from OP Forums
Thanks, That is exactly what I was looking for. That helps a lot. Sorry about wrong forum.
For low number of players, I also like to include a lot of skill encounters rather that combat. It keeps things interesting without always risking character death.
I have a short guide for those here on the forums.
I would vary a bit the checks when investigating the cabin, making them all keyed to perception is a bit boring. Table and bed, sure it's perception; the fireplace could be also, but I'd allow a (lower DC?) craft check as an alternative; the one on the body should be medicine.
As others have already said, DC 10 is quite low and I would raise it unless the clues are really easy to discover. Finding things on a table shouldn't even require a roll, but if the interesting stuff is mixed with something else, then a perception check makes sense.
The treasure part was already pointed at too; in PF2e gold is 10x more valuable, so you should probably scale down the gem's value.
An introductory adventure for new players can well be less challenging and more forgiving; so be careful with combats, because with two players only your group will be very vulnerable to bad luck. I'd give them extra hero points.
Megistone wrote: with two players only your group will be very vulnerable to bad luck. I'd give them extra hero points. And maybe houserule that you can use Hero Points as a misfortune effect to make an enemy re-roll an important good attack roll or saving throw that they make.
Because with only two characters, using Hero Points for stabilizing isn't going to help much when there is only one character left fighting. Hero Points instead need to be used to make sure that the battle goes in the player's favor through the beginning and middle of the battle. Not to try and rescue things at the very end.
Recent threads in Homebrew and House Rules
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