how campaigns begin...

[Capt. D]

Just to get past the whole "you meet in a tavern" thing I like to mix it up. I will either start the session with the group just getting back from an adventure or right in the middle of a battle. Of course I don't just drop them into a scenario with no explanation. I always give them a little bit of back story, and try to make sure I keep things within the PC's character. One time I started a session with two of the PC's in the gallows about to be hung and the rest of the group trying to climb the fortress walls to rescue them. Again with this I made sure not to have any "off screen" action happen that was out of character for the PC's or that would really upset the players. Luckily my group enjoyed this and it helped to get them off to a good start. The hard part about this is coming up with something new each time. Sometimes it started out in an action packed sequence or at a ball or festival, and occasionally I start things off in a tavern just to keep things fresh; since I do the tavern so rarely it doesn't seem stale or cliche.
Of course you usually have to know your group, the players should know each other, and they should trust the DM to not screw them over before you consider starting things off in some kind of action sequence.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

When starting a new campaign, step one is to talk to all the players about what they're looking for in the game. I like to make sure that we're all more or less on the same page, and make sure that we all know what world we'll be gaming in. If I need to do any world design or tweaking, it is done then. The next step is to design the first adventure, and come up with an outline for the next few. Then they generate their characters. And then we play the game!

I like to have the first adventure be as strong an introduction as possible, so I spend a good deal of time on it.

 

[diaglo]

as a referee i write up a little campaign background and give/post it for the players to read.


as a player i roll 3d6 in order and develop my PC based on the roll.

 

[MonkeyDragon]

I have Session 0.

At the beginning of a campaign, Session 0 is for handing out handouts for my homebrew and discussing the character creation guidelines. Then it's time to talk about what they want. In the past, I've come up with a list of stuff (silliness, serious rp, dungeons, cities, wilderness, traps, peril, etc) and had the players rate them 1-10 on how much of it they'd like to see. I also try to get goals for the character and some background so I can incorporate stuff into the game.

In my group, I rotate the DM chair for the early game with another DM. The game I just started is the first time I've actually been able to continue the old game with the same players and characters as before. We still have the same Session 0, though. This time, I talked about the things on my list and took a few notes to get a feel for what they wanted. The handouts were updates of the homebrew.

The chat yielded some good stuff. For instance, I the PCs have been pretty mercanary types, in it for themselves or possbility of reward. They'd gone on a mission of goodness, but were still pretty out for gain. I found out in the discussion that they WERE very interested in having some adventures where they did good things for the sake of goodness, and were ok with situations where they couldn't expect much of a reward. I also asked how they felt about facing (seemingly) overwhelming odds, or being severe underdogs, because the last thing I wanted was to make an adventure where they were captured by overwhelming foes and struggling to survive chained in a dungeon if my players can't stand that sort of thing. I found out that a TINY bit of that would be ok, but I shouldn't include much of it.

After the discussions, we had a recap of last season, and then the PCs got to pick up more or less where they left off. The only rule was, it was to be a strictly roleplaying day. No combat. At all. So if you pick a fight, you lose. Don't pick fights. This was so I could concentrate on the process of building a campaign without having to have encounters ready for that first day. The PCs split up to gather some more information about the quest they were going on.

One PC, of course, wandered off alone. He's 15 miles from the city, now, tracking down bandits. When we stopped, the others had just figured out that he'd left and are tracking him down.

It's perfect. Now I can have an easy startup bandit killing adventure before delving into the meat and bones of the new season.

 

[FunkBGR]

Wherever I am, nobody seems to want to run games.

So I don't ask the players what they want - I start something that I think will be fun, figure out how much time I need, and go with it. I let the players choose whether or not they want to play.

That doesn't mean I don't take suggestions or listen to what they say to me. I'm fully willing to modify whatever module, or write whatever adventure so that it plays to different strengths.

I just don't want to run something I find boring. I've done that before, and I don't want to again. The above isn't meant to be harsh either - it's just that you as a DM are playing a game too, and it has to be fun for you, in addition to all the other players.

 

[Phlebas]

Start with campaign idea and 'base' for characters (Base will be somewhere in my homebrew world so will impact character choice)

talk to players - get commitment and agree when and where

get PC's 'rolled up' - normally this involves a few e-mails, occasional meetings in house or pub, and all rolls witnessed by me. - Most players are experienced enough that the first thing they do is ask "Who else is playing and what?" and base concept on that. At this time i'll start getting the group concept together - how they know each other, relationship to major NPC's etc. Most of the players are freinds I've known for years, who also know each other so theres not normally a lot for me to do in terms of balancing out the group (though i have dropped unsubtle hints for the last players fleshing out characters if i think the group is light on fighters, rogues, healing etc..)

approve characters - I have the Core books and not a lot else and so I will only let non-core options if i've had a chance to read & think about it. At this stage i'll start fleshing out the first episode which may or may not have anything to do with the campaign but should get the group working together

first session - although I try to get everything arranged before the first session, there always seems to be a few last minute queries, so i never plan too much other than a fight of some kind to get group talking to each other

- My current campaign i had a long first episode (about ten sessions) which was deliberately designed as a prequel to the campaign proper - so everyone played as a 1st level teenager. At the end of the episode 4 years of game time passed, the PC's went to 4th level, and after another round of e-mails / coffee / beers to clarify down time and flesh out some of the character background we start campaign proper

"AND SO IT BEGINS......."

 

[DonTadow]

As with what I'm doing now, my campaign creation scheme can take 6 to 9 months. I come up with a concept, look at how the current game is going and then do a loose mechanics primer of what will and wont be included. For instance, for the next campaign it will use OGL steampunk, Iron heroes, and a bit from the advanced gamemaster guide. I create a homemade supplement so that there's little confusion and everything meshes. That might take a month or two. After, I play test a few times and ask the players if A. they want to be in it or B. any additional input.

The first thing i do is have the players discuss concepts and group concepts on a forum. Then we have a character creation and roll up characters.

I avoid the tavern thing and try for some unique way to get the party together.

 

[ssampier]

I try my darnest to get my players come to some consensus their characters, "You play the figher, I'll get the cleric." Teamwork is certainly a foreign concept. Instead it's hours of mashing and grinding, "My character is a vampire*", "Ah great. I'm playing a vampire hunter!"

It doesn't help that we mostly play in ad-hoc "one-shot" games.

*for the record they never play an actual vampire, they usual play someone who thinks they are a vampire. I know different strokes and all that.

 

[ashockney]

When starting a campaign recently, I've found myself getting much more interactive. Here are the questions we discuss:

1) What game system? (Typically D&D 3.5)
2) What "type" of game? (S&S, Heroic, Evil, Horror, Minis, Board-game)
3) What length of campaign? (short to long, typically around 6 months and 10 levels or so)
4) What power level? (Low, Medium, High, or Epic - most end up medium)
5) How much gaming material should we introduce - what level of complexity? (this goes from SRD only all the way up to NO SRD Materials - expansion products only, typically we end up with core rules plus a couple things from DM approved WOTC splatbooks)
6) When will we meet, and how often? (typically weekly for at least a 3 month commitment)
7) How many players? (4 - 8, usually end up with about 6 players)
8) Are there any particular themes you want to explore or character ideas you've been wanting to try?
9) How much roleplaying vs. combat do you prefer? (typically ends up mostly hack 'n slack)
10) What type of world do you prefer, and will it support the above desires?
11) What level should we start? (based upon question 4, typically 1, 3, 5, 12, 16, or 20)
12) Character creation guidelines:
Ability Score Generation
Magic Item Selection
Level of DM input into character development/background
13) House rules:
Character creation exceptions (ie, all elves, my last campaign)
Combat rules exceptions
Skill rules exceptions
Feat rules exceptions
Ability rule exceptions (ie, Min/Max)
Class ability exceptions (on an as needed basis)
Spell rule exceptions
Magic Item exceptions
Courtesy expectations
Rules resolutions in game
Problem resolutions
14) What character/role would you prefer to play, and will we have all the bases covered?

Once "agreement" is reached on these items (largely driven by the DM's input/suggestions), we commence with character development. I will try to start everyone out with one encounter/combat to provide them with a taste of their new characters on our first night. Over the next few weeks, we evolve the campaign theme around the feedback provided, and with a little luck, some character backgrounds show up, which helps to add some enriching depth to the direction for the campaign, beyond just my crazy ideas, and the time I've been able to put aside to "scour" sourcebooks for adventure hooks, plot themes, and mysteries.

 

[Lalato]

In the past, as a player, I've tried to work with the other players to make a party that works well together... not just metagame wise, but also flavor wise. One thing that I generally like to avoid is the situation where you have a Good party with a Chaotic Neutral character thrown in the mix... or vice versa. Or a party that is mostly made up of people from one region of the world and the one person that just has to play a Drow or some other exotic race.

So in order to nip that sort of thing in the bud... or to at least give it a plausible explanation, I've found that I like to discuss all of this stuff up front while everyone is creating their characters. That said... you can't help some of this stuff at times so when it does happen... I just go with the flow.

--sam