I recently read a Dungeon article that talked about alternative beginnings to an adventure or campaign that defy the "you are sitting in a tavern..." archetype.
One of the ones I liked most was "You wake up in a bare cell. You have been sleeping there since the time of your arrest late last evening". The point, I gathered, was to dislodge the players out of their comfort zone and get them thinking about survival from the very outset.
What are some other non-standard, creative beginnings to adventures that we can bring to our games?
M|F
In my ravenloft game it started off with a mutiny and players(Ex-officers) being stranded on a desert island.
One that I've used is that they are all delegates/ambassadors to a meeting. Things happen at the meeting, they must fix it or their reputations are on the line. It doesn't assume that PCs know each other in advance.
The group can all be co-travellers on the same ship/train thrown together by circumstance by shipwreck, a killer on the ship, etc. I have a one shot in my mind that starts at a fair - things happen and several people fall into a giant sinkhole that fills in after them. They are in a previously unknown underground complex and must find an alternative way out.
The co-prisoner idea is ok but it's been used a bunch.
You can also go the opposite way, that everyone is in the same organization, such as thieves' guild or government agency. This works best if everyone makes their characters together and decides on their relationships.
Quote from: Nicephorus...You can also go the opposite way, that everyone is in the same organization, such as thieves' guild or government agency. This works best if everyone makes their characters together and decides on their relationships.
My favorite variation on this was one where the PC's started out as a bunch of teens who had all grown up together in a small town. The GM had even gone as far as to make a big random table full of memorable events from their collective childhoods. Things like "This PC beat up this other PC when they were 6, and they've been friends ever since."
Small town beginnings are some of the best vehicles, in my opinion.
I had an epic campaign where the characters were all related in some fashion to the Famous adventuring party that used to call a small-town home... and of course their parent's deeds would come back to haunt them. :)
I like the shipwreck idea, and intend to use it eventually.
Basically, I will have the PC's wake up on a foreign shore of some unknown continent. They do not know each other, save that they where passangers on the same ship.
They are on a beach in what appears to be a secluded bay, the beach lies at the foot of some tall cliffs, the cliffs seem impossible to climb, but in the distance a clear path goes from the beach to the top of the cliffs. Near the Pc's they can see the minimum equipment they need to fulfill their class role (A cleric would find a holy symbol of his deity and maybe a quarterstaff, a wizard would find a spellbook (not necessarily hers), and a spellcomponent pouch, a fighter would find a melee weapon and a wooden shield, and so on) and a bunch of unopened crates that have been washed ashore with them. Before they have a chance to examine the crates however, they are jumped by a ground of weak mooks (goblins, orcs, whatever, I intend to use redcaps, but then again, my PC's will be around level 5 or so).
Once the mooks are disposed off, the pc's can open the crates and equip themselves better. Once they follow the path up, they will be standing on a long road that follows the cliffside closely. On the other side of the road, a large forest grows, and a short distance away, they will see a large hut with a sign that shows that one can buy (and sell) equipment there. The house is to large to be that of a human, and once the PC's enter, they will find the shopkeeper is a civilized troll. Once they overcome language barriers (shouldn't be hard, the troll speaks Giant, Draconic, Fey, and Elvish) they will learn that they are no where near any place they can find a way home, infact they're not even on the material plane anymore, but rather in the realm of faerie.
Where the PC's go from there, is up to them. As long as they remember to stay on the road and never accept gifts from faeries...
Quote from: EnkhiduMy favorite variation on this was one where the PC's started out as a bunch of teens who had all grown up together in a small town. The GM had even gone as far as to make a big random table full of memorable events from their collective childhoods. Things like "This PC beat up this other PC when they were 6, and they've been friends ever since."
Small town beginnings are some of the best vehicles, in my opinion.
It's certainly worked the best for us.
It depends ;
I like to work with my players on this one , but prefer to have them start seperately and (sometimes)at different locations , then "play" them together.
It's a damn lot of work , but very rewarding when it pans out.
The tavern is a good compromise for when the players would rather eschew backstory and get straight to the action. Here are your introductions, let's not waste orc-cleaving time on pretty words.
If the players want more than that, I find that a lot of the alternative beginnings seem intended to throw the players into situations where they have very limited resources and experience in the setting. That's fine once or twice, but can become frustrating rather quickly. If the players have any interest in backstory, however, it's often much easier before play to have them help decide how everyone knows everyone, and why they're all out there risking their necks in the first place.
I started one where the PCs were in a hobgoblin prison wagon being hauled back as slaves in a caravan. The caravan and hobgoblin guard force were ambushed by a small guerilla force of elves and Tallfellow halflings. The PCs had to fight their way out, which was tough as they were unarmed and unarmored. The fighter-types jumped the nearest hobgoblins and wrestled away their weapons and armor. It was pretty exciting, actually, as the players were really worried about being at such a disadvantage, and everything was fast-paced. They had little time to think. So when it was all over, they really appreciated what they had.
We had one DnD game where we all basically got kidnapped and thrown on board a ship. None of our characters knew each other prior, and the ship's captain made us do a job for him in order to let us go. Then, once THAT was done, we were stranded far, far from home and even getting back was adventurous unto itself. (Similar to the shipwrecked idea.)
One I'd like to try some time is where the players get given character sheets for some high-powered badasses. They play for a while, then get munched by the BBEG. Then the actual game starts with their real characters, who deal with the mess that their predecessors left.
In my current Warhammer campaign I started it out with the characters all being part of the same military unit in some capacity, either as actually soldiers or as part of the baggage train. Some of them had their own back histories that they were also wanting to pursue, which was fine. The army had only been together for 6 months by the time the story picked up. When the story began they were all that was left of their main unit and were trying to make it back to the rest of the main army. It got them all on the adventure together and heading in the right direction.
Plus as new people joined the game it was fairly easy to just add them in along the route and have them as part of the same army, they just broke off at different spots along the way.
I actually prefer starts that don't involve compromised or threatened PCs:
1. The PCs have been hired/are members of the household of some noble, giving them a reason to work together but allowing for backstory variation;
2. The PCs have all been having the same mysterious dreams, which lead them all to journey to some point that is equally unfamiliar to all of them;
3. the PCs all share a common allegiance (to an ideal, a religion, or whatever) which leads them to work together;
4. In extreme cases, I have been known to make up 8-10 PCs, complete with background, and simply allow the players to choose one from the group. Although it seems rather restrictive, I've often had my players identify with characters given to them in this way quite well, because each character already fits the world so well.
I quite like the very first thing the characters are involved in be in media res. If you put all the characters in an action sequence, then you can start negotiating why they are there, rather than come to the stumbling block when a player puts down his heels and says "my character wouldn't do that, it's not how I envision him". If the deed is already done, all you need to agree on is a motivation.
Of course, like any GM technique it's not good to abuse or overdo the above. The GM has to be sensitive to what kind of scenarios would be non-negotiable. Most players wouldn't agree to start a scene with the GM saying "so, you've just raped and killed the innocent woman you met in the tavern earlier in the evening. Now, why did you do that?", just to take a rather extreme scenario.
Quote from: willpax4. In extreme cases, I have been known to make up 8-10 PCs, complete with background, and simply allow the players to choose one from the group. Although it seems rather restrictive, I've often had my players identify with characters given to them in this way quite well, because each character already fits the world so well.
Mad Hatter ran the beginning of the 2nd edition Werewolf introductory adventure. As with all such things, they had sample characters -- but they were all very different than any "Werewolf" stereotype, *and* were very different from the sort of powergamer characters most people would make. They used some of the more obscure powers and niches of the game. It made for a damn fun adventure, 'cause everyone was getting their roleplaying muscles stretched. :)
Quote from: CyberzombieOne I'd like to try some time is where the players get given character sheets for some high-powered badasses. They play for a while, then get munched by the BBEG. Then the actual game starts with their real characters, who deal with the mess that their predecessors left.
Sounds a lot like "Vecna Lives!"
I had an idea for starting off 5th or 6th level characters as captured slaves pressed into the gladiator circuit. They all start having won several matches, and been assigned to kill each other in a free-for-all. (necessary background - none of them like this and all would like to escape. Perhaps they all know each other from the gladiator pits.) As the match starts, there's a tremendous earthquake and the arena is damaged, allowing escape during the confusion.
Quote from: Name LipsI had an idea for starting off 5th or 6th level characters as captured slaves pressed into the gladiator circuit. They all start having won several matches, and been assigned to kill each other in a free-for-all. (necessary background - none of them like this and all would like to escape. Perhaps they all know each other from the gladiator pits.) As the match starts, there's a tremendous earthquake and the arena is damaged, allowing escape during the confusion.
I'd try to work in a couple who were disappointed that the fight didn't happen and who are waiting for a good opportunity to give it a go - have Mugen and Jin (from Samurai Champloo) rivalry going on.
I've never been a big fan of a start that immediately strips a character of all possessions. Especially the slaves/prisoners angle as that's been done to death.
Some of my favorites are:
Adventuring College - Easy for most players to relate to, a shared companionship with the inherent cheesy cliche of being from a small town, and you can play a more mature character.
Danger! - The players all start not knowing one another but in a situation where they're overwhelmed and have to work with the others to surivive. Examples include starting all 5 characters in the Underdark, and having a hunting scene where each player had to run from a lot of kobolds. Eventually the PCs end up in a large corridor facing the kobolds and one another. They fought together, really bonded and covered one another, and destroyed the kobolds.
The odd thing about this one is that my players actually worked better when they didn't know one another than when they became a party. I still don't get that.
Amnesia - The players all wake up in a small town without any real memory of who or what they are. There are several townspeople suffering the same condition. Eventually the players discovered more of their memory. Of the 5 players, 3 were part of an adventuring party that had uncovered the artifact that wiped the town's memory. 2 were passing through. Another party member (NPC) of the 3 that were together stole the artifact and left them with the amnesia. The players were able to write their backgrounds up until about a year of game time before the campaign started. It worked marvelously.
Mentor to Student - 4 or 5 retired heroes each took on an apprentice and trained them together, then brings the students together for the first time to go off on a mission. That first mission was a test of their abilities created by the older heroes, and after that they send the PCs off on some specific missions to tie up their own lose ends, and eventually off on their own for good.
There is a local gaming group that meets monthly and I've been thinking about starting a semi-campaign of simple 3.5 D&D (no extra rules as I want everyone to be on the same page right away). I can't count on having the same players every time. You also can't expect people to remember much after a month, so I want each night's action to be largely standalone, one shot adventures, but I want people to be able to reuse their characters.
Here's the setup I plan on using.
You have been found guilty of a moderate level crime. It might have killed someone in an illegal duel, caught carrying illegal weapons, tax evasion, theft, import/export without the proper forms and fees, something worse than loitering and less than murder.
You may or may not have actually been guilty. Perhaps you are a foreigner ignorant of local laws or someone who did the honorable but illegal thing. That is now irrelevant. You have already been sentenced. The city of Neess is quite progressive and doesn't use execution or even maiming in most cases. The city loves to use fines. But if the person is too poor or the crime is too serious the person is Marked. Marking puts a permanent imageof a horned skull on a person's face. It magically shows through makeup and hoods. Nothing short of wish level magic can remove it.
Soon after your sentencing, you are approached by a mysterious woman. She informs you that she is from the Neessan council and would like to hire you for a secret mission. You will be paid. She has a secret spell that will remove the Mark for a week. The missions are quite dangerous. But, if you succeed in three missions, your Mark will be permanently removed and your name stricken from the crime record. She warns you that she has no official title and only a few people know of her existence - if they get caught, no one will believe that they are working for the government.
Your character is someone who has agreed to this proposal. Maybe the Mark prevents them from pursuing their earlier life and work. Or may they just want the chance to do cool dangerous stuff.
The adventures will be spy stuff in an urban fantasy setting: assassinations, object retrieval, finding out secrets, etc.
Quote from: ColonelHardissonSounds a lot like "Vecna Lives!"
Generally, yeah, though I had the idea even before that (from some book I read, I think).
Actually, given our conversation on the Star Frontiers 2001 module the other day, it got me thinking about this some more. It would be difficult to do, but it would be interesting to have a group run two sets of characters -- one in the past and the other in the present -- at the same time. I'm not sure how you'd coordinate it, and it would be tough to keep things straight (and not have the past wipe out things done in the future), but it is an idea that intrigues me...
I remember an opening I did once for a hybrid fantasy/sci fi campaign with a loose "Amber" feel: I let the players each make up any kind of character they wanted (at a particular level of power), in whatever world they wanted, and then immediately had them summoned to this campaign plane by a very powerful wizard. If they wanted to get back home, they had to help the wizard (although they later learned of other options by maneuvering around the rather complicated politics of the place).
The characters get their stuff, the world is completely unknown, and the only people who can understand their situation are the other summoned characters. It worked pretty well.
oops, thought whis was a new thread. Oh well, on topic:
I started my last campaign by having each of them write their backgrounds so that they ended up in the same city. Then they each recieved an invitation by a local Lord whose considered it his job to know things and acquire items. He offered to hire them as a party to do some jobs for him.
Not that original I know.
*Comming soon - a new thread on working in a new character*