I've been working on and off on an idea for a big campaign in the Savage Frontier. Since I want to target it at players new to OSE, I want to start the campaign at 1st level, and I feel it would probably work much better if the players first get some experience and resources going against minor threats, before taking on either the Zhentarim in Llork or the Kraken Society in Yartar.
The middle Dessarin Valley around Red Larch seems like a good place to start a campaign. It's a fairly civilized area of the North without major cities and no ongoing threats from top tier monsters or big villainous factions. But it's also close to the Sword Mountains, the Westwood, and Kryptgarden Forest, and it has the Stone Bridge for some sense of ancient dwarven wonder. A great area for both new adventurers and players, but I have to admit I am not getting any inspirations from this.
Southkrypt is a ruined dwarven stronghold that holds the lair of a hill giant vampire shaman. Which I think could make for a really cool final boss for this first act of the campaign, that would force a 4th or 5th level party to throw everything they have against it and require elaborate planning and perhaps calling on the aid of any allies they made.
But that would still be at the very end of the adventures in this area. What I need is material for the players to engage with at 1st to 3rd level before they encounter the hooks and follow up threads to face the unknown dangers of Kryptgarden Forest. Any ideas what kinds of adventures might be to be had around Red Larch based on existing Classic Forgotten Realms material, or simply thematically fitting for the area?
