Campaign Intro

The Story (to Start)
Terror by night! The village of Drellin’s Ferry is dying. Once a small and thriving community, it has become a maze of locked doors and frightened faces. Strangers are shunned, trade has withered, and rumors flourish, growing wilder with each retelling. Terrified peasants flee their homes, abandoning them without explanation. Others simply disappear…

Rough Campaign Arc (for now)

Levels 1-3: Deal with the issues in Drellin’s Ferry.
Levels 3-5: Adventuring around Elsir Vale in somewhat isolated adventures. This may include, but is not limited to:
Exploring an extensive dwarven ruin. Think Mines of Moria, but with fewer demonic entities… probably.
Kicking some bandit butt, of course.
A snowy adventure in the mountains.
Nickelodeon-style slime (don’t ask, just roll with it).
Encountering clever goblins.
And whatever else sounds fun!
Levels 5-10: The region of Elsir Vale is under threat…
Levels 1-3 are pretty set, but after the issues in Drellin’s Ferry are dealt with, we can pretty much go in any direction. We might even switch to a completely different campaign if we want!
Drellin’s Ferry will be a village you can explore fully, with every building on the map accessible. Additional areas will unlock as you explore.

What I Need From You Guys
A couple of characters will need story hooks. Here are some ideas to get you started:

You have family or friends in Drellin’s Ferry, and you’ve received a letter about the troubles there.
A mentor or someone close to you went off to investigate the problems in Drellin’s Ferry, but they haven’t returned.
You’re an adventurer (think Indiana Jones) who’s heard rumors of an ancient magical artifact tied to the village.
Or if you have a different idea for your character’s hook, let me know, and we can probably make it work!

Not everyone needs a direct connection to the village—just a few will do.

Also, we need to figure out why the group is adventuring together. Possible reasons include:

You’ve worked together on a prior job.
You’ve been hired by a patron.
Or you’ve got some other reason to team up!

If anyone has a fun idea for a “prologue” scenario, I’m open to it. This could be a way to get the group together while still keeping it light and fun. Since you’re traveling to Drellin’s Ferry, you’ll be safe from permanent death in the prologue adventure. Think of it like a danger room scenario where you can get used to your characters in battle. Just know that the prologue will be fairly linear until you get to Drellin’s Ferry, so keep that in mind!

Tone & Other Notes

If you do something really reckless or the dice just hate you, your character might die. (I’m not planning on a high body count, but it’s a possibility, so be aware.)
As for tone, think Monty Python meets Avatar: The Last Airbender (cartoon, not the crap movie).
My goal is to keep sessions around 2-3 hours long.