I have been planning this post for a while but the blog is so busy these days with so many new voices that I was having trouble finding a free day. I try and avoid two posts in a single day as every post should have its moment in the sun.
The caravan guard adventure that we did earlier in the year has been at the fore of my thoughts for the last week or so.
The events in that adventure can be boiled down to these:
- get supplies for the caravan
- defeat toll/highway robbers
- relieve town from disease
- save wagons from wolves
- goblin tower
- protect wagons from monks
- learn the truth about the monks
- defeat wagon guards
- defeat caravan captain
- defeat pirates
- restore artifact to monks
RMu experience is broken in to events. The personal events are going to vary but as this is intended to be a first adventure for the characters I think there will be lots of firsts. Personal awards should be within the 10-1,000exp range with about 100exp being typical, 100 is the top of the minor award range and the bottom of the moderate award range and I do not think a character is going to have any major personal events in their first adventure. I should have thought that an active player should be able to rack up 1,000 exp from personal events over this adventure.
I do not think there will be any campaign awards except for a single award for completing the adventure. That should come to 1,000xp each for surviving the adventure.
What we are left with is session events. The events in this adventure tend to be what I think of as moderate events. Moderate events have a price tag of 500-1000 exp each. There are ten such events in this adventure which should, on average come in at about 7,500 experience.
If we add on the personal and the campaign experience then we are looking at about 9,500 each. A generous GM would probably stretch that to the 10,000 needed to level up.
I think that this could easily stretch to three or possibly four sessions. I also think that leveling up after three or four sessions is about right.
Goal Setting
I have assumed that the characters are actually 1st level for this adventure and as such I have hobbled the monks somewhat. I have them a very high level of self preservation, injure one and two others will help the wounded monk from the battle field. This means that I can throw a veritable army of monks at the caravan but not kill the party unintentionally. I have also made them 1st level. If you have gone with a 2nd or 3rd level starting party they will have a serious power level advantage.
The goblins are 2nd level but they will be met during the day unless the characters decide to try and sneak past during the night. The goblin sensitivity to daylight in a big balancing factor. -25 is more than anyone will gain in a single level of advancement so it more than wipes out the 1 level advantage that the goblins have over starting characters.
Once the characters have joined forces with the monks they have the numerical advantage in all the future encounters.
I think aiming for 10,000exp per adventure is a good ball park figure for these starting adventures.
I am going to revisit each of the suggested adventures so far and see if they also hit the 9,000-10,000 exp figure.