The Intrepid Ten
The Intrepid Ten were three seperate groups brought into one session.The first group followed the adventures of Lom the male half-orc barbarian, Adoroar the female halfling rogue, Zandilninthus the female elf cleric, and Shafire the male human fighter as their home town of OneGap became bewitched by the cult fanatic Akular Magnit. Akular Magnit had once been a priest from the Temple of Gladenstone in the land of Goldenshield, but conceit and avarice caused his downfall, and he fled in shame after he stole the Rod of Rulership from the tower of the wizard Cabal. Arriving in OneGap, Akular quickly seduced the Mayor and his staff with the Rod of Rulership and assumed control of much of the towns assests. Rebellion and factions split the once peaceful town into 4 different areas all at war with each other, and these four adventurers escaped and made their way deep into the Endless Forest ending as 3rd level PCs.
The second group followed the adventures of Davastar the male human wizard, Alhuna the female elf sorcerer, Sianera the female gnome monk, and Loreweaver, the male elf bard as they escorted the Princess of Kencher away from her dangerous, treacherous, and murderous father, the King of Kencher. After braving Flame Spurt Ridge, making their way through Quick Sand Alley, and solving the puzzle of the Three Trails, they finally found refuge at Kor's Tower, and they, also, ended as 3rd level PCs.
The last group was a female human ranger named Lilian Jackson and a male dwarf druid named Francis Dunham, who started their adventures in the normally peaceful and pleasant Yellow Meadow Village. They witnessed the infestation of Moradin's temple, when the village was attacked by the killer plants Kued Abba and the treacherous, mischievious Brucs. Just as that menace is dealt with, the two witness the first Bandit/Thug attack, which striped the village of all its resources. These two players were sent east for help and they ended as 2nd level PCs.
After all the players agreed, we all met at the table and played the following game: Using the wizard Cabal as my game hook, I brought Lilian Jackson and Francis Durnham to Kor's Tower where they met and gained the help of the first group. On the otherwise uneventful journey back to Yellow Meadow Village they found and gained the aid of the second group. All ten were then instructed by the wizard Cabal to ready themselves for a great adventure. They first are sent south, deep into Kyper's Canyon, to the home of the divine being I'lwairl Corecor where they received a stick imbued with the power to thwart the evil Talukslul. They journeyed back to the Temple, and entering, they found a terrible infestation of forest creatures. The stick turned into The Fairy Slingshot and a pouch, and, when they killed their enemy, they found seeds were left behind that made for deadly ammunition. With the use of the magic weapon, they managed to clear the forest creatures out and conquer the Talukslul Biche that infested Moradin's Temple. But after those three sessions, the players were they were still anxious for more, so I had no problem bringing down the Bandit/Thug army from OneGap thinking I could just wake them up the next morning in the dungeons of OneGap. My mistake was giving the players 8 months.
They immediately began training the villagers. I realized it was only 18 weeks for marine boot camp, and that by six months an E1 is eligible for a promotion. So, I created a Village Militia and ways to turn a commoner into a soldier. I calculated out the percent of those over 50 and under 15 and found they had 62 able bodied soldiers, plus another 19 who were able bodied if a bit old, (over 50? closer to 62) but useful if only to wield a crossbow and guard a home base. That still left one set of adults, one set of grandparents, and seven 15 and 16 year olds armed and hidden in the forest to both guard the children under 14 and hold the place as an evacuation point. That left 81 soldiers and the Intrepid Ten against, since I had originally written the module as 1 thug and 5 bandits per PC, 91 thugs and 455 bandits, an army 546 strong. I made sure OneGap could affrord that size of an army: a population of 8000 ppl, split into 4 factions, with the Mayor (bewitched by Akular Magnat) controlling nearly 5000 of those people and the majority of the barracks, he could have a standing army of 1250 soldiers, so a long range attack with almost half his force sounded reasonable.