I love 0-level adventurers.

It's been at least two decades since I've even played a game that uses levels (with the notable exception of Gamma World, 1st edition only, thank you), and I still love 0-level adventurers, whatever the game sustem.  My favorite scenario for introducing new players to RPGs is a variant on the Jack & the Beanstalk story -- a farmboy on his way to market who gets swindled out of the family's meager prospects and must seek out a means to restore their fortunes.  It works well, providing a sound, simple, and familiar foundation for newbies, and it's just plain fun to run as a GM.  Not to mention, things like giant river otters are able to give the players a run for their money.

So I'm dreaming up a scenario for a small group of friends who are rarely-to-never RPGers, and I'd like a little input.  A common starting point for many campaigns is the village defense, usually where the player characters are a group of itinerant mercenaries/adventurers who just happen to be passing through town when the shit comes down.  Now, that's commonly a 1st-4th Level adventure in my old 1st ed. AD&D parlance.  What I'm looking for is a true 0-level adventure, where simple members of the village pull together their own defense, have to pursue the source of their woes beyond the relative safety of home, and discover an adventuring spirit thereby.  No outside help -- period.  All characters must be from the village and have no practical military experience or training.

First, what's the scenario?  What's happening to the village that requires normally stead members of society to go forth and risk their lives?  Why can't they rely on outside help?

Second, who's going to go?  Who in the village is fit to go adventuring and why?

Honestly, I haven't thought much about the What and Why so far.  I've been thinking about the Who.  Here are some ripe ideas I've thought of:

The Smith / Woodchopper - Big, strong, stalwart.  Able to swing a hammer or axe with devastating effect, though not trained to actually fight with it.

The Woodsman - Good with a bow and hunting/tracking skills.

The Herder - Like the Woodsman, familiar with encounters with wild animals, particularly defending against vicious predators.  Probably good with actual weapons like a sling and a spear or a club/crookstaff.

The Altarboy - Not an obvious choice, but if there's any need for literacy for the adventure to succeed, this assistant to the aging village pastor is the closest anyone in the village has to it.

Any other ideas?

!i!

I would change "The Woodsman" to "The Hunter."  In my mind, a "woodsman" is someone who would have experience chopping with an axe to utilize the natural resources of the woods, whereas a hunter is focused on hunting the creatures in the woods.  For the former, you need an axe, for the latter, a bow.

Add this one:

The Apprentice - He spends his time, mostly, carrying water, reshelving books, copying (and recopying and recopying) his masters notes (more as an artist than a reader).  He has been stuck for most of his life in a tower where his primary skill is to carry water, food, fuel and books high up into the tower where the master sorcerer lives, works and experiments with the arcane powers.  He is literate, can do a few parlor tricks (mostly sleight of hand and juggling), he has zero combat skills.  He can be used as a "wizard's apprentice" or a "sage wannabe."

You also need a Street Rat (thief).

Fisherman/Sailorman - Tough, used to survival in the elements, navigation skills.

Burning Wheel Lifepaths start from when you are born so it has a huge variety of such options for characters. Such as Butcher, and they use different names like Trapper for what I think you call Woodsman, but without the weapon skill.  It also has a few of the more offbeat ones surch as Villiage Idiot, who gets by by either standing out or melting into the background as well as tossing the occational Ugly Truth.

EDIT: Getting out of the Village and Peasant settings you run into some other curious ones. Such as Ratcatcher in the Seafaring setting (knowledge of traps and poisons) and Painter in the City setting (some observation abilities, knowledge of human anatomy) and Hostage in the Noble setting (knowledge of foriegn languages, etticate, etc.).

Point taken on the Woodsman/Hunter distinction.  Shift the "Woodsman" to the "Woodchopper" position.

Also, I like the "Apprentice" better than "Altarboy", though they get at the very same thing.  I'd like to stress a real backwatery feel to the adventure, so there are no towers and no real sorcerors to speak of, and when I mention "literacy" I'm being generous.  The role of the sorceror you suggest is probably filled by the aging pastor I mentioned, or the village wise-woman or somesuch.  I like the idea of sleight-of-hand tricks -- "stage magic" that the Apprentice's master uses to impress the unsophisticated.

!i!

Quote from: Ian AbsentiaPoint taken on the Woodsman/Hunter distinction.  Shift the "Woodsman" to the "Woodchopper" position.

Also, I like the "Apprentice" better than "Altarboy", though they get at the very same thing.  I'd like to stress a real backwatery feel to the adventure, so there are no towers and no real sorcerors to speak of, and when I mention "literacy" I'm being generous.  The role of the sorceror you suggest is probably filled by the aging pastor I mentioned, or the village wise-woman or somesuch.  I like the idea of sleight-of-hand tricks -- "stage magic" that the Apprentice's master uses to impress the unsophisticated.

Very good.  I like the blend.  I think I'm starting to take a shine to your feel.  It would definitely be a "tactic" to "wow the natives" with "divine power" like sleight of hand and such.  I can see that.  

What about the Street Rat thievery type?

Quote from: VellorianHe is literate, can do a few parlor tricks (mostly sleight of hand and juggling), he has zero combat skills.

I envision "0 level" as having dick all for trained combat skill as likely the norm. Maybe a few of the rougher sorts, such as barflies, would have some experience with brawling. But rare would be finding someone that knows what to do with a knife in combat other than point and poke.

The Orphan - Raised by who knows what or whom, the Orphan (sometimes called "the Mouse") wandered into the region a few years back.  Small, wiry and able to fit through most any opening, he scavenges for whatever he needs. His mere presence makes people take hold of their belongings and hold them closer to themselves.  He smells.  He has no friends.

(Imagine Matthew Broderick's character in LadyHawke, but about 10 years earlier...)

For an adventure, I'd suggest the usual cliche of the monster which settled in nearby. It may be old and somewhat tired, but it gets all the stuff across the players will be facing later in their life as adventures. You might as well double up on the cliche and use a standard monster but don't tell that to your players.

Some additional characters:
The Freak - There seems to be one in every village. A child born -- often orphaned -- that just doesn't seem to fit in with the rest of the society. Maybe he's physically marked (albino, lame, cross-eyed, disfigured), maybe he just has some social disability. Whatever the case, he lives as an outcast. But maybe in a time of crisis, some hidden ability comes into play. Maybe he's just terribly intelligent, maybe he has a way with animals, maybe there's a magical talent slumbering...

The Merchant's Son - It might be a small village, but even here wealth isn't distributed equally. Some people seem to end up in poverty, some people will be the ones who end up with their money. Growing up as the son of the richest man in town is a test for the character. Often he'll be the arrogant, spoilt brat everyone expects. But he might be the only one able to read... (or he could prove to be a major NPC nuisance)

Innocence - Most likely a girl from 12 to 18. People might be fully covered in shit all around her, but she just wears a perpetual smile. Someday the Knight/Unicorn/Bard/Harper Scout will appear and take her away... Good role-playing fodder, decent comic relief, a good idea for a future cleric.

If this is D20, I can recommend the "Commoners" PDF from Emerald Press (which elaborates on the NPC classes) and Darkness & Dread from Fantasy Flight Games (WFRP-like careers as core classes for a lower-powered D&D -- and some neat horror tips).
If you want to get away from the village idea, N4 - Treasure Hunt is a terrific adventure for 0-level characters. Scratch that, even for the village some of the pacing and general ideas can be used just fine.

Quote from: Ian AbsentiaPoint taken on the Woodsman/Hunter distinction.  Shift the "Woodsman" to the "Woodchopper" position.

Exact name used in Burning Wheel. It is my understanding that the names are largely based on historcial books (Bibliography in the back names a large number of them).

QuoteAlso, I like the "Apprentice" better than "Altarboy", though they get at the very same thing.

Acolyte?  "Apprentice" generally refers to juniors of all sorts of trades.

I'd find a list of common occupations and let the players choose and let them figure out ways to put their skills to use.  For example, maybe a dyer would have chemical/alchemical knowledge and vats thatt could be turned into traps.

The threat should be either something that quickly cuts them off so they can't get help or the situation prevents help - say a political dispute over ownership of the village prevents either lord from defending it.  A plague/host of some kind might work for the former - something like rats, super sized army ants, a travelling cult similar to the followers of Dionysus but with a possibly more violent edge.  

If they win, they might wind up with part of their wealth (in the form of crops/goods) destroyed but with a new source of wealth, such as the goods of the cult, ant husks that can be sold to an armorer, or something that requires them to travel to try to cash in on the goods and  can be a source of further complications, such as bandits, corrupt officials, and prostitutes who take their stuff after they've passed out.

Gad - what about the Smith? You can't have forgotten the villiage smith!

-clash

Quote from: SosthenesFor an adventure, I'd suggest the usual cliche of the monster which settled in nearby. It may be old and somewhat tired, but it gets all the stuff across the players will be facing later in their life as adventures. You might as well double up on the cliche and use a standard monster but don't tell that to your players.

Well that is likely to cull the herd.  You don't tend to play long at that level though with D&D, as there is a steep power slope to climb you get at it pretty quickly. Which is likely for the best since defeat, and therefore death, tends to come very quickly when you drop them into standard D&D fair.

Anyway:
The Merchant's Wife/Widow - As per Merchant's son. She might have picked up some skills from her husband's trade over the years.

Quote from: flyingmiceGad - what about the Smith? You can't have forgotten the villiage smith!

-clash

Ya, Ferrier. Brewer. Carpenter. Ditchdigger. Etc.

Quote from: blakkieI envision "0 level" as having dick all for trained combat skill as likely the norm.

Precisely.  Over the course of the adventure/campaign, the only combat skills they'll have will be self-discovered applications of skills that they already have.  Thus, we have The Smith who can crush a foe's head in with a good blow, but knows nothing about blocking or dodging a returned blow.  The Huntsman can shoot or lay traps, but again doesn't know anything about actual fighting.  The Herder is likely to be the one most likely to have gotten into a couple of tactical scraps, and that was probably against the likes of a small pack of wolves.

Quote from: VellorianWhat about the Street Rat thievery type?

What streets? I'm thinking of a real backwater village.  Any background that requires any degree of genuine sophistication (including even peripheral access to a market economy) is right out.  This is a self-sufficient po-dunk I'm imagining, pretty much in the middle of nowhere.

!i!

Quote from: Ian AbsentiaI'm thinking of a real backwater village.  Any background that requires any degree of genuine sophistication (including even peripheral access to a market economy) is right out.  This is a self-sufficient po-dunk I'm imagining, pretty much in the middle of nowhere.

Wolf Boy - Raised by wolves, the Wolf Boy lives on the edge of the society. He is excellent at scavenging for (what passes for) food.  (The plot of the story drives him to the village.  Whether to face a common enemy or to face the lesser of two evils, who knows?)  [This character should not be allowed to verbally communicate with the other players.  He must pantomime all his communications.]