The First Day of Summer
As is typically of the communities of the Lakefolk, the first day of summer is important. Children come to their majority on the 1st day of summer, families are bound together by wedding, and there is a great celebration for the newly welcomed adults into society. Those newly welcomed adults with the inclination towards adventuring are given their first quest by the mayor of Lakeport and sent out into the wider world to learn, grow, and discover.
The Mayor of Lakeport has dozens of tasks and quests that need to be done for the betterment of Lakeport and the surrounding areas. On this day, he (or she) assigns those tasks to the groups most appropriate and assigns brand new adventurers into groups that can hopefully accomplish the tasks in front of them. Every group that finishes their task has the option of pursuing another task, and clearing them from the grand job board. The Adventuring season ends with the First Day of Winter.
This is the adventure start i use for every adventure i start in the Lakeport environment. Why? It’s evergreen. There are no specific details of timing that make this start not usable for any adventure in the area. The Job board allows me to provide additional quest options and ideas for groups that are looking for more stuff to do, while Lakeport itself has enough resources to enable adventurers to use it as a base of operations for several levels.
It also lends itself to new groups of adventurers. Lakeport is a diverse community and has residents of dozens of cultures that are capable of turning into adventurers. The Mayor groups adventurers together based off of his or her own preferences, but rarely assigns a group that can’t function well enough to accomplish their task. Groups that work well together may be encouraged to try more complicated tasks. There are three primary types of quests that the Mayor of Lakeport assigns new adventurers.
Quest 1: Exploration
Even with the size of Lakeport and its relative dominance of the 25 miles or so around it, Lakeport has very little contact with the wider world. Brand new adventuring companies are often given very basic maps of the areas surrounding Lakeport and sent out to confirm the details and fill in some of the blanks.
Quest 2: Monster Hunt
Lakeport thrives because of its relative safety. There are monsters moving through the area all the time, and one of the first tasks a party of young adventurers can be assigned is tracking down and dealing with a monster that threatens that safety. Even if the adventurers find a monster that’s outside their ability to deal with, knowing where the monster is can be helpful for sending a more powerful party of heroes to deal with the threat.
Quest 3: Being Neighborly
Lakeport and its surrounding environs are home to several sentient creature populations and the Mayor of Lakeport goes out of their way to make sure that their neighbors are happy. If this means sending a party of adventurers to check on a sleeping treant, or help out a colony of apiats, the Mayor is happy to do so. This also means checking on the dozens of dolmens to see if there has been any activity. This also covers meeting new groups that have used the winter to move into the area and making contact with the other things that live near Lakeport.
Now let’s tie these three idea together as part of a campaign framework to get a party of adventurers started in Lakeport.
Starting point
The newly ready to go out adventuring party is given a fairly important task by the Mayor of Lakeport. The western shore of Lake Delimbre is one of the closest point to the town that frequently is visited by other humanoids. Near the end of Autumn, a group of adventurers mapped the area and returned home ahead of the freezing storms. Now with the thaw, the area needs to be mapped in greater detail. For mapping out the area in greater detail, the characters will be paid 100 gp each, and this is expected to take about two weeks for a group their size to map the area in specific enough detail. The Mayor is providing all the supplies to make the maps, and providing a boat to get the characters to the other side of the Lake. (You could walk around, but that would make the entire process take about a month and a half instead of a 3 day boat ride, 2 weeks exploring, 3 days back).
Complications
Parts of the area have been recently taken over by a group of rogue Snakhs, chasing the Apiats who dwell in this area for their honey.
The trees have moved again, which means it will take a little bit longer to map than previously expected. (The Trees and their movements are one of the reasons why the mapping and cartographic industries are so fruitful in Lakeport).
Rogue Ants have been seen in the area, and seem to be pushing closer to Lakeport.
Tremors have unearthed a cave system on the far shore. Some of the caves are submerged, but others are accessible. (These aren’t on the mapping imperative).
Each one of these complications can lead to at least one adventure (in the case of the Snakhs, probably a couple) and with the caves, the GM is encouraged to get creative with the dungeon crafting. Probably not all of the caves are explorable right now, but that’s okay. The characters can always come back to explore them in greater detail when they have more resources (and have levelled up a bit).
After their return from the western shore, the characters have a little bit of time to rest and recover. They can spend some of their treasure, pick up some new gear and otherwise get ready to go out again. If the characters haven’t started looking for a new job by their 4th day back, the Mayor sends an envoy to come find them. This task is a little more difficult than their previous task, but pays significantly better.
Deep in the heart of the woods north of the town lies one of the ancient planar dolmens. These are gateways to other planes of reality and they occasionally open, letting that extra planar energy spill out, usually in spectacular fashion. This usually wouldn’t be a problem, but an Orc tribe has settled on that location as a resting spot on their migration east. The orcs themselves aren’t being a problem, but if they were caught unawares by the Gate opening, who knows how they’ll react. The Mayor would like the characters to travel North and warn the Orcs about the Dolmen and offer assistance in finding a safer camping ground to the east.
Complications
The Orc Chieftain’s son has gone missing and he refuses to break camp until the boy is found.
The Cult of the Black Ocean is actively trying to open the gate early and trigger a bloodbath amongst the Orcs. Their plan is for the remaining orcs to go rampaging through the countryside and killing as many people as they can before they are put down by the surrounding communities.
Two Clerics of the Lady of Gates are trying to study the Dolmen, but the Orcs refuse to let them get closer to their camping ground. Perhaps the adventurers can calm this situation down?
Again, each of these complications is an adventure of its own and that gives the DM some room to add touches of their own and design their own lairs for the Cult of the Black Ocean or whatever “thing” has taken the Chief’s son.
The Characters are tasked with a special adventure. Another party of adventurers was exploring the underwater caves they discovered in the first part of the story arc, and they failed to return. Now, with the onset of winter, Fisherfolk have noticed strange lights coming from the far side of the Lake. The characters must return to the caves, find the missing adventurers, and figure out what those lights are. They should also try to get back before the onset of winter and the killing cold that strikes this area.
Complications
The Strange Lights are the product of ancient piece of Giant Magic, and if the device is left unchecked, will destroy the water in Lake Delimbre.
The adventurers have been taken by the traps/guardians of the Giant Lab, and can be rescued if they can be freed from the enslaving magic of the Giants.
Winter has come early, and the characters will either have to seek out shelter in the caves, or race against the storm.
The Giants cast a long shadow on the world, and this is one of their many hidden labs and redoubts. While the Giants themselves may be gone, some of their minions have survived the tremors that opened the complex and are continuing where they left off. This should get the characters to around level 6 (maybe 7 depending on the DM) and with the end of the 1st season of Adventure, the characters have the winter season to rest and recover before starting another season.
Each one of these complications can lead to at least one adventure (in the case of the Snakhs, probably a couple) and with the caves, the GM is encouraged to get creative with the dungeon crafting. Probably not all of the caves are explorable right now, but that’s okay. The characters can always come back to explore them in greater detail when they have more resources (and have levelled up a bit).
Midpoint
After their return from the western shore, the characters have a little bit of time to rest and recover. They can spend some of their treasure, pick up some new gear and otherwise get ready to go out again. If the characters haven’t started looking for a new job by their 4th day back, the Mayor sends an envoy to come find them. This task is a little more difficult than their previous task, but pays significantly better.
Deep in the heart of the woods north of the town lies one of the ancient planar dolmens. These are gateways to other planes of reality and they occasionally open, letting that extra planar energy spill out, usually in spectacular fashion. This usually wouldn’t be a problem, but an Orc tribe has settled on that location as a resting spot on their migration east. The orcs themselves aren’t being a problem, but if they were caught unawares by the Gate opening, who knows how they’ll react. The Mayor would like the characters to travel North and warn the Orcs about the Dolmen and offer assistance in finding a safer camping ground to the east.
Complications
The Orc Chieftain’s son has gone missing and he refuses to break camp until the boy is found.
The Cult of the Black Ocean is actively trying to open the gate early and trigger a bloodbath amongst the Orcs. Their plan is for the remaining orcs to go rampaging through the countryside and killing as many people as they can before they are put down by the surrounding communities.
Two Clerics of the Lady of Gates are trying to study the Dolmen, but the Orcs refuse to let them get closer to their camping ground. Perhaps the adventurers can calm this situation down?
Again, each of these complications is an adventure of its own and that gives the DM some room to add touches of their own and design their own lairs for the Cult of the Black Ocean or whatever “thing” has taken the Chief’s son.
Endpoint (For This Arc)
The Characters are tasked with a special adventure. Another party of adventurers was exploring the underwater caves they discovered in the first part of the story arc, and they failed to return. Now, with the onset of winter, Fisherfolk have noticed strange lights coming from the far side of the Lake. The characters must return to the caves, find the missing adventurers, and figure out what those lights are. They should also try to get back before the onset of winter and the killing cold that strikes this area.
Complications
The Strange Lights are the product of ancient piece of Giant Magic, and if the device is left unchecked, will destroy the water in Lake Delimbre.
The adventurers have been taken by the traps/guardians of the Giant Lab, and can be rescued if they can be freed from the enslaving magic of the Giants.
Winter has come early, and the characters will either have to seek out shelter in the caves, or race against the storm.
The Giants cast a long shadow on the world, and this is one of their many hidden labs and redoubts. While the Giants themselves may be gone, some of their minions have survived the tremors that opened the complex and are continuing where they left off. This should get the characters to around level 6 (maybe 7 depending on the DM) and with the end of the 1st season of Adventure, the characters have the winter season to rest and recover before starting another season.
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