Following on from my last post…
I am thinking of an adventure for 1st or 2nd level characters. The intention is that you run this before you finish your character creation. If you are going to start at 2nd level, run this at 1st. If you are starting at 3rd, then run this at 2nd level.
An adventurous interlude will give new players a chance to use some skills before they have spent their last round of DPs, so they can make some last-minute changes or improvements before starting for real.
It also means that if anyone takes a nasty injury that is going to take weeks or months to get over, that time period can be glossed over as they will be starting the campaign for real long after, and one experience level, after the end of this training wheels adventure.
My initial idea is for this:
Someone/wealthy merchant/relative of a character hires the characters to retrieve a stolen item.
The item is now aboard a merchant ship in the harbor.
The ship will leave on the dawn tide tomorrow.
The characters need only retrieve the item to claim their reward.
On board the ‘merchant’ ship the characters can discover a disproportionate amount of weaponry.
There is no cargo.
The crew will be outwardly respectable, but below decks they are rough and ready.
I will create the crew from the Reaver culture.
The item will be found in the captain’s quarters, in the captain’s possession.
This little adventure can be solved by stealth, sneak in, steal the item back, and sneak out.
It can be achieved by force, if you are extremely lucky, by storming the boat and taking the item.
The expected route will be an attempt at stealth that will only get them so far, a confrontation with the captain and some of the crew. A fight on the deck of the ship, allowing movement over different levels of deck, rigging, ropes for swinging on, and gang plank.
A chase scene as part of the getaway.
The merchant ship is obviously really a pirate here in disguise, which will give the new GM a chance of a recurring villain, as this ship can turn up in docks and ports repeatedly through the characters’ careers.
If they are successful, it also gives the GM a potential quest giver in the initial merchant.
All of this can be done just using Core Law.
I will also put together a rag tag crew of several different player races, to help differentiate the crew and showcase some of their strengths and weaknesses.
With no monsters or magic, I think pirates is a good source of ‘obviously the bad guys’.
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I like the idea, can see it working well and gives a good work out for the new Rolemaster system.
I think the fanzine will be a good place for putting these little starting adventures or even really well-developed standalone encounters. I have always been impressed with how Forbidden Lands structured their encounters.
I would like the fanzine to be a replacement for The Guild Companion, but the fanzine will pay via profit share on DTRPG sales. The Guild Companion never recompensed anyone.
What’s are ability to write RMU adventures? Same restrictions as writing SW stuff? I can start making the 5in50s RMU focused if that’s allowed. Of course, still need to wait for Spell Law or use the Beta version?
As long as we steer clear of things that are clearly ICE inventions, and we don’t reprint their wording for rules, spells, skills etc., then we should be fine.
I am purposely avoiding spell casters in this adventure, but we could create magic items with spell effects, as long as we describe the item and its effects in our own words.
Anything I publish from now on will be RMu focused. Anyone who is sticking with RMC or RMFRP will be a dab hand at converting material, they have had decades to get good at it.
the idea reminds me much about the Adventure League Module “Defiance in Phlan”.
I haven’t read or played that module, but what I want to build something that leans into skills more than kills.
yeah, basically the module boils down to a series of approx 1-hour each short adventures that are linked together for an intro level band of adventurers like you suggested above.
That is a good idea. I hadn’t considered linking them.
Heirloom/religious artefact that has been stolen and resold several times (it was seen at an auction/shop but was sold on). That way you can encourage your party to use some social skills. Also with the added bonus that it doesn’t link the “merchantman” as being criminal.
The downside of ships is that they have limited access points so getting a party of 4 over the gangplank and in one of the three main access points (unless it has cannon) is quite tricky unless, of course, the majority of the crew are enjoying the last day of shore leave. Then they can arrive in time for the PCs to be exiting the ship and only cause problems on the main deck.
I agree about the ship access,but then that becomes a good planning exercise and an issue for the characters to overcome.
I like your heirloom idea.