First adventure finds - Magical weapons/armor/items

[Eric42]

So, I'm designing my first real adventure and was wondering about what I ought to make available to the players right away. That brings me to my question...

What items should be made available to them in, say, the "starting" town? They should face down a witch, so I'm tempted to have a protection from witches amulet obtainable from the alchemist. Would that be appropriate? Of course, they may not think to check there or even to think they'll need it. But anyways...

In their quest, what items should they find? Should they even find magical items? I just unsure really though I have ideas. Just wondering what others have done.

[Hotrod]

There's a trope known as "Checkov's Gun." If a character picks up an object with some sort of use, he'll wind up using it. If you want the characters to acquire some important item, and they don't think to go buy it at the local alchemist shop, then you can plant it on a victim of the witch that they find, or they could be given it by a friendly party.

A witch may be a bit rough for newbie characters. I tend to regard a first adventure like a ship's sea trials, giving them a chance to operate in different environments, travel, interact with NPCs, fight some low-medium threat enemies, and recover from the fight. Then I'll throw them into a deeper plot like a witch hunt. Of course, if you have experienced players playing powerful characters, they should be ok.

Good luck with your gaming session!

[Library Ogre]

A lot comes down to how much magic you want in the party. Expendable items (scrolls, talismans, potions) and limited use items (like witch bottles or something that gives a bonus on a certain kind of save) are good option early on, especially since it's YOUR first real adventure... it a LOT easier to recover from "I gave them too many potions!" than "How do I handle the rune weapon I gave them?"

You might also go with essentially powerless magical weapons. Give them magically indestructible swords, or ones that have the "Color" property. Maybe they get some armor with extra SDC or a point or two of AR improvement... minor things that are better than normal, but not so much better that they're turning their nose up at normal stuff.

As Hotrod said, a witch CAN be a very tough early opponent, depending on what kind of witch and their relative level... a Gift of Magic witch is deceptively hard, because they have a demon familiar. A Gift of Power witch can be really tough, but they are less likely to have a familiar. A major pact witch's extra power can REALLY up the difficulty... summoning demons will usually wreck a party, and even a bunch of animated dead can be hard. DO NOT go with Gift of Union. You WILL kill your party unless they are obscenely lucky. That said, a witch isn't a bad idea, as it can drive later adventures, dealing with other witches allied with the same Demon Lord.

[Alrik Vas]

Things you could find fighting a witch:

Gingerbread
Bones of children
No bucket larger than a pint
Broom
Caldron
nail file, also used for removing warts
Picture of the guy who pushed them over the edge into Witchdom, likely hidden in a tattered old diary they haven't updated since their teens.
several hundred pounds of cat litter

I think your group will be satisfied.

[Veknironth]

Well, I say keep the magic level low. If you start them out with a bevy of magic item there isn't anywhere to go after that. They will have nothing to which to aspire. That is, unless, you give them even more riches. The problem is that the characters become entirely out of whack with the NPC's in the canon material. If you're creating your own world that's fine, but that's a lot of work. If you have a group of low level characters replete with magic weapons and items, you have to conveniently ignore how everyone would want to take their bounty (see the rune weapon string). People might think twice about going after the 8th level Wizard with high level friends, but the 2nd level Mercenary with the indestructible Dwarven battle axe, with an ever sharp blade is a nice target. That weapon could sell for 5 figures!

-Vek
"Why is Itomas the Emperor? I have three rune weapons!"

[drewkitty ~..~]

Remember even though they have magic in PF magic stuff is still quite rare outside of a magic shop.

For starting chars I would just give them money and maybe some magic trinkets like amulets made by the amulet spell.

[Maddog]

One of my groups did Gersidi first and cleaned the place out. They loved it. The Chalice of Dragonwright gave them an identity, Deathkiss made them strong. They still talk about it now and we played it in 2001. Deathkiss was lost after a bit, so it didn't cause too much trouble.

[mirithol]

There's a trope known as "Checkov's Gun." If a character picks up an object with some sort of use, he'll wind up using it. If you want the characters to acquire some important item, and they don't think to go buy it at the local alchemist shop, then you can plant it on a victim of the witch that they find.

Agree with Hotrod. Just make sure the victim's body is horribly and ritualistically displayed. (If its a new group you may want to check the level of gore your players are comfortable with). The amulet might have fallen off - thus leading to the hero's early demise, or the witch might not be able to touch it, perhaps throwing leaves or dirt over the amulet attempting to hide it. The player characters could find it searching the area. Add the red herring of a mallet and several sharpened oak stakes to amp up the tension and dread.

One use items like potions are fine. Make them earn anything special, they'll appreciate it more. You hardly ever talk about that great battle maul you bought at the store, but the one you took from the unreasonably large ogre with six fingers and an iron plate sewed into the side of its head will be recounted in taverns forever. Good descriptions and items with histories add perceived value to even ordinary items.

Have a great game.

[Lukterran]

One of my groups did Gersidi first and cleaned the place out. They loved it. The Chalice of Dragonwright gave them an identity, Deathkiss made them strong. They still talk about it now and we played it in 2001. Deathkiss was lost after a bit, so it didn't cause too much trouble.

The Tombs of Gersidi is actually a terrible first level adventure. It was a good interesting place but it really isn't meant for new characters. Power creep happens fast if a party makes it out with any treasures.

In regard to a good first adventure - I like to hire the group to sneak into the wealthy manor of an evil noble and retrieve some valuable (possibly magical) item that was stolen from the quest giver (normally a poor farmer, priest of a church etc.. ). Anything that would align well with the parties motives.

A good thieving brake in is exciting and can bring a lot of mystery and intrigue into a game quickly. Guards and traps (give players first exposure to ward magic) add danger and the threat of being caught. Plus the loot from any other items they snatched (usually silverware, expensive jewelry etc...) can give the party well earned reward to better outfit themselves. Lastly, it isn't just a hack and slash style adventure and it gives opportunities to use other skills sets.