Strange men sleazing about in taverns distributing quests is no basis for a system of adventuring.

I often use the "you all know each other method." This has ranged from "you are young nobles in a great city but your families are on the losing side of a faction struggle, so your resources are limited or, in one case, you are out of favor with your family for taking the money that was supposed to be for your suit of fitted plate, your arming sword and your blooded war-horse stallion and using it for magic lessons." to "You are a Hobbit street-gang in the mean streets of Iron Town."

Then there was the time when a player-character Elf inherited magically enhanced instruments and sought other young musicians to start the first Elven Fusion rock band. It turned out they needed roadies and security also.

I recently used "you are all traveling to a wedding and your paths meet at a crossroads a couple of days from your destination." Some of them knew one another and some had already been traveling together.

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https://sites.google.com/site/grreference/

Adventure starts I've used:

1) "You wake up in an extremely-defiled temple to Ao with a pounding head and no memory of how you got here or how the place got so trashed."

2) "You wake up in Eliminster's bed with a pounding headache and no memory of how you got here or who these other people are. The elderly wizard refuses to look at you or talk to you and is constantly blushing."

3) "You're all defendants on trial for treason."

4) "You're all mercenaries assigned to work together."

5) "You wake up in a strange town, just in time to see a local kid run out of the room crying, 'The destroyers awaken! Run for your lives!'"

6) "You're in this void. I have no idea how you got there; I was drunk when I wrote this. Make it up yourselves. And get me a beer."

7) "Your mothers are all trying to sell you into slavery, and you need to escape and discover why."

8) "You decided not to meet up at the local tavern, so for some odd reason the local tavern decided to break into your home. Decide which of you is the homeowner and which ones are uninvited guests trying to stop the drunkards from destroying this place."

9) "For some bizarre reason, you're kobold miners. Yes, I know this isn't what you put on your sheet; roll with it."

10) "You're assigned as new crew to the Enterprise. Try not to blow up anything important!"

11) "You're the rescue team assigned to figure out why the Enterprise's warp nacelles spontaneously exploded and if there are any survivors."

12) "You're the demolition team sent to destroy the Enterprise after the last six rescue teams all died. Because one of you is an unlucky sod who is no longer allowed to make any skill checks until we can arrange an exorcism for your dice."

13) "We're playing Pathfinder and you rolled up Shadowrun characters... I don't even... Fine. You remember this Johnson assigning you to explore some experimental physics lab and, somehow, you ended up on Golarion."

I've always like the openings for Ghost Tower of Inverness or Pharaoh -- you've committed a crime and are being forced to perform a quest instead of other punishment.

Seems appropriate for most bands of itinerant murder-hobos.

Though I've typically used the "you're all from the same town, grew up together, and now must face down a threat to said town."

For an upcoming "Intro to D&D" adventure I am writing, the PCs begin on a riverboat heading towards town - which is a 'Wild West frontier' area with lots of hopeful prospects for solo troublemakers - when the boat is ambushed by bandits.
The bandits are the real plot continuity thread.

Bill Reich said:

I recently used "you are all traveling to a wedding and your paths meet at a crossroads a couple of days from your destination." Some of them knew one another and some had already been traveling together.

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You are all pilgrims / travelling merchants going to the Capital City to visit the cathedral and/or the Crown Princess' Coronation.

I ask my players how they might know each other, but they are not required to know each other before hand. Most importantly though, I tell my players that the goal of the campaign is for them to work as a team. So I ask them to also write and play their character with that goal in mind.

Then I throw them straight into an action packed scene where they need to work together. Once they make it out of that sticky situation together, they have enough incentive to stay together.

Fauchard1520 said:

First of all, relevant comic.

....?

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hahahaahhah I love the title. XP for you.

The second time I used the solo mini adventure style intro was my best, I think: I had the PCs in a major island city-state celebrating the end of a generations-long war with a treaty and alliance sealed with a royal wedding. Everybody did their own thing until it was time for all non-residents to leave. Coincidentally, they all wound up on the final ferry...

...which was attacked by anthro-tiger raiders from another prime material plane.

After a prolonged battle on board the ship, the captured PCs were spared, stripped, chained and led into the hold of the raiders' ship. When they were finally brought ashore, they're clearly in a completely different PMP...

As they stood there on the sandy beach- still naked, but unshackled- one of the tiger-men informed them that their bravery & skills displayed during the raid earned them a second chance at life, as opposed to some of their shipmates.

*pointed past them towards several rotisserie fires*

They were now on The Prince's private hunting island. They were to be given a head start into the jungle. As soon as The Prince arrived and had a light snack, the hunt would begin in earnest, announced by the beating of drums. Those that made it to the safe zone on the other end of the island would be spared. Those that didn't?

He pointed at the fires again, The yelled "RUN!"

I've been doing this along time. So I've used all manner of openings.
Yes, many an adventure has begun with recruiting at the local tavern. And variations of that.

Lets see what my current recent games have begun with.
1) Initial 5e campaign - a hedge wizard sent out a magical call for help/summons. 7 (the pcs) people heard the call & made their way to the small farming community by the specified date. Did the call reach anyone else? Did some people who heard it just not respond/not arrive in time? Nobody knows.... (although that would've been a good way to introduce any new/replacements if needed). Only 2 of the characters knew each other from the start. All agreed to help the town & became friends as the adventure unfolded.
The initial gathering took place in the town hall, but once business was concluded moved to the tavern.

2) The game started mid-mass-combat on a map filled with minis- both friend & foe. The Wild Hunt had swept through the region absorbing non-evil villagers, guards, PCs, etc and throwing this mob against the combined hoard of monsters found in the Caves of Chaos. The characters had never met one another. All they knew was that they felt compelled to attack any mini on a red base. The PCs were scattered across the map. This combat continued until all PCs were all unconcious. Then they woke up the next day (because of 5e healing rules) as some of the only non-monster survivors. They looted the battlefield & explored the various caves.

3) The Mummies Mask AP - this one started with the party already formed & arriving in town (along with dozens of other "adventurers") to participate in a "gold rush" as an ancient necropolis was officially opened for exploration.
How they met & formed was left to the players to decide.

4) My Taldor campaign - The players chose to make 3 kinds of knights & 1 druid. All were in the service of a noble house, knew each other, and were on escort duty to their lieges eldest daughter when the fun began.

5) The short lived barbarian game. We decided to run a 5e game. I was picked as the DM. The players all decided to play barbarians, from the same tribe. Then they decided to play as 2 1/2orcs, 1 dwarf, & 1 winged elf. From the same tribe....
So I started them off all as 1/2orcs, had them summoned from their homeland via Horn of Valhalla, & stuck them into a party full of chaos, magic, & satyrs/fauns being hosted at a little forest tavern.
During the night one character got polymorphed into a dwarf.
Another ended up drinking something, failing his save, & passing out. While dressed in a stuffed college-mascot style dragon costume (beheaded). Crawling out of the ruined costume in the morning he found he'd become a winged elf....

I always ask my players for how they came to be together as an adventuring party. It always gives me a few hooks and some laughs. As to start an adventure, it always the first time that is difficult, but again, the players can help out by letting you know why they are on the road or in the town. You as a DM do not have to do all the work.

What I have used:
1) Little girl needs dog saved.
2) Family member of one of the party has a job for them.
3) They have not stopped running yet and just ended up hiding here.
4) We need money and this was posted on the sign board.
5) It is my duty as a cleric/paladin/wizard to perform this task.
6) We were just on our way to the city and this happened.
7) WTF happened, last thing I remember was drinking, now I am Shanghai'd (or press gang)
8) Letter from home.
9) We raid, it is what we do.
10) You are company adventures, your job is to explore and provide reports on investments (profits to the company).