Mod ParticularsThe story opens with a bang...literally. You are Veslyn Thorne, a commoner, living in the village of Wren Hall. The village is in a panic, because the Nilroggi horde is approaching, driving literally everything before it. All manner of panicked wildlife (wolves mostly, but other critters too) are tearing through the town, killing. If you tarry, eventually you'll start seeing Nilroggi (my thought here is to try and export the Chryssalid from Xcom 2, and use that mesh, but at start, I might just use something of convenience).
The adventure opens with a member of the town guard telling you to run, and to save as many townsfolk as you can. I'll have ~18 townsfolk wandering around town, with your mission to save at least six, leading them to a waypoint somewhere on the map.
Basically, you walk up to a civilian, talk to them, get them to follow you to the waypoint. Of course, you'll be interrupted by marauding creatures who want to kill the people you're trying to save.
The guard tells you that he and his fellows will buy you as much time as they can before rushing off to do battle. He also mentions that somewhere to the south and east, there are rumors of a band of refugees...he mentions safety in numbers, and recommends that you lead the people you rescue off in that direction.
As heroes go, you're not much to look at. You have no equipment. You have no skills. You have...nothing. Your early battles will likely be fought with shovels, fishing rods, brooms, or whatever odds and ends you can put your hands on. Over time, as guards start dying, you may be able to upgrade to actual equipment.
Each civilian you save is worth 50xp. If you save at least six, you'll get a bonus of 100xp for each civilian saved above six at the conclusion of the adventure.
The waypoint will be in sight of a patrol that the large refugee group has out, led by McDougil. When you escort your first group there, you'll have a dialog with McDougil (from the story), who does not want to let you in. Arliss Castillar will interrupt the dialog, and tell you that you and yours can remain with them if you'll agree to pull your weight/earn your keep by helping maintain order in the camp.
Once you're "in," you'll have an opportunity to explore the refugee train, interact with some of the people there, etc. There will be a number of side missions here (people who have lost something, missing folk, sick people who need this or that, etc), but one of the main things you'll become aware of is that there are deep divisions within the camp.
A number of major power groups have formed, and you'll have the opportunity to join one of these, pledging your allegiance to them. Of course, you can opt not to pledge your allegiance to any group, but doing so has distinct advantages, the biggest one being that allegiance to different groups "unlocks" different class builds.
For instance, if you join the Free Folk, you'll gain access to Rogue, and the "Borderman" class, which is essentially a Wayfarer. Joining McDougil and the Council will unlock Fighter/Ranger. Joining Fury will unlock Knight/Ranger. Castillar: Cleric/Fighter. Mourngrym: Fighter/Rogue/Shadowblade The Order: the various wizard sub-types. I'm guessing that the easiest way to handle the transition would be via skill books or something that you could gain access to after throwing in with one group or another.
Depending on which group you align yourself to, this will unlock certain group-specific adventures you'll have access to, and then the story unfolds from there.
So the story above serves as the backdrop, and the major events in that story will play out, providing the broad arc of the adventure, but telling your part in the tale as it unfolds.
