After a couple weeks of grueling travel, the adventurers reached a mountain range - at this point, they were way too tired to care which or where. The wizard did a disappearing act, and so the party was left in the middle of nowhere, with nothing to do.
Well, not really. It would have been a poorly designed adventure to leave them without stuff to do. The elves' keen ears soon picked up distant sounds of battle. They climbed a tree and took in a fearsome sight: a human army, pressed on all sides by hordes of monsters: kobolds, goblins and orcs. I stressed that the battle was far away, and they couldn't reach it in time to help, but the party set out anyway. Well, not really. They debated on how best to escape any battle[2], until the good-hearted dwarf had enough and started out on his own. With no better ideas in mind, the rest followed. Just before getting down from the tree, their lookout noticed a mounted human force enveloping the monsters and breaking through their ranks.
It was getting dark by the time they reached their goal. They were intercepted by a mounted patrol and escorted into the army camp. Noticing scores of wounded and dying, the dwarf cleric and the elf druid immediately set out to use up their healing spells. Everybody else hanged around and tried to steal con money out of the survivors.[3] The plot thickened as they noticed that the armies - even the wounded - made up two factions. The men-at-arms were being healed by a lady in green, while the drafted peasants were tended to by men in brown robes. The peasants made faces and looked confused and scared at being healed by the adventurers
After this gesture of good will, the adventurers were escorted to the command tent, where they met the leaders of the armies.
The beleaguered army belonged to the nearby settlement of Beverna, and was headed by Baroness Sienna and her Weapons Master, Ser Pavel[4].
The relief force was commanded by Lord Dorn Buckman[5] of Basilea. The young man was obviously attracted to the Lady Sienna, who obviously did not return his affections.
The party was invited to the victory dinner, and the players made tentative attempts at roleplaying.
Proton, the halfling rogue snuck under the table to snag a couple of wallets, and was rewarded for a clumsy skill check with a dog bite. Dogs are under every medieval table, right? They serve as trash bins.
Selene flirted around with the mounted armsmen of Basilea, selling them fake jewelry and potions. She even tried sneaking around at night, hoping to steal more stuff, but was not very successful.
In the end, the adventurers did find out what's what. Beverna, at the edge of civilization, had always been the target of roving monsters descending the mountains. This time, however, it was different. The enemy was organized and attacking in great hosts. Messengers had been dispatched to the other settlements and rulers in the Zarek Valley, but only one answered - the proud Lord Buckman of Basilea. Everyone else had their own troubles to handle. The adventurers were then tasked with going 'round the countryside, visiting the settlements and convincing them to give aid.
They also received what they immediately dubbed 'side quests'. The local religious representatives explained that old and new religions compete in this region, each asking the adventurers to help along its cause in any settlements they visit.
On one side, Miri and her brother Helm were clerics of the old gods[6]. In Beverna, their beliefs were now being upheld only by the soldiers.
Father Orlaag, close and trusted adviser to the baroness, was himself the high cleric of the Master in this region. He and his monks represented a monotheistic religion and a much kinder god, embraced by the peasantry and the baroness herself.
The adventurers asked around until they were satisfied, then took a map of the region, wagons and horses, some supplies, and off they were.
Straight into an ambush.
The kobolds, led by a hobgoblin, made for a good fight against the level 1 party. The adventurers used the wagons as forts, stabbing down and firing arrows. Horses were hurt and went wild, barely restrained by those proficient with land vehicles[7]. There was even the obligatory "Let's drive over them!" moment, and kobolds were crunched beneath the wagon wheels.
All in all, a very successful introduction into DnD 5E.
[1] At this point, the setting was just a generic fantasy realm. But yes, I drew inspiration from the Forgotten Realms.
[2] Some heroes. I learned after a while that this is their typical mindset, though.
[3] I should have known, when they almost all went for a neutral alignment, that it would go like this.
[4] Why yes, I did just download a couple of images from random sources for these portraits.
[5] The players immediately proceeded to nickname him "Jaime Lannister" and forget his real name.
[6] I took inspiration from the pantheon of the Forgotten Realms.
[7] Ever since, I frequently get the question: "Does my proficiency in land vehicles help here?"
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