unusual ways of getting a party together

[The Lone Badger]

Last campaign we all decided how we knew each other (everybody knew at least 1 other person), and then just started roleplaying. Eventually the DM inserted plot elements ("Ok, while you (PC1) are breaking into the house to steal the documents (PC2) asked for, you also see a safe in the corner...").

 

[Jakathi]

lol

i kinda liked the bordello scenario. but kinda difficult to work in any female members of the party.... unless it was an equal oportunity bordello.

 

[Scion]

not quite the same, but close

last campaign I was in my character died.. for in character reasons it was decided to not bring him back..

now came the hard part, get a new character into the group..

the rest of the group decided to set up a panel, they would go to the biggest city in the country they were in, rent a building, and set up a hiring contest and various testing of abilities.. they would take the one they felt would help them the most..

so I had to make several characters ( I made 5 or so) and the dm set up a few, we went through all of these hoops that were set up and finally one of my characters won the 'prize' of getting to go with them..lol.. was a pretty cool thing, but my character just happened to die the next session from a bad save vs poison.. or rather 4 bad saves in a row ;/

Lets just say that idea didnt work again.. the town doesnt take kindly to you showing up a week later and saying, 'where was that guy who came in second place?' lol

 

[2d6]

Have them wake up after a night of partying/or being kidnapped to find they have been "recruited" into a chain gang and are currently chained together and have to escape.

 

[Steverooo]

One way, is to have them hear of, or read a posted notice asking for adventurers to apply... They go in and give their spiel, along with some NPCs, and then the person in charge selects the NPCs for the job, leaving the PCs to their own devices... Naturally, in "applying for the job", they have already "introduced" themselves.

Player reaction: "Well!... THAT never happened before!"

Another unusual way is to start them off in the "MindWipe" adventure, where the game begins with them strapped to a table, with a needle in their arm, and with no stats, memories, nor equipment. I have run this, several times, to good effect. If you're interested, you can see a Sci-Fi version of it, here:

http://anch_stevec.crosswinds.net/mindwipe.htm

Of course, anything that brings PCs into the same village, hamlet, town, or even a small city will also work. Once there, something happens that brings them all together. Mugging, siege, stampede, etc.

 

[KerlanRayne]

I saw someone post an idea where the party members were together on one side of a table and some rough looking thugs on the other side. The PCs had no idea how they got there or who evryone else was but the thugs look at the PCs and say "So where's the goods?"

KerlanRayne

 

[RC Hagy]

Hehehehe...

Their mothers!

Who can forget being dragged along somewhere, 'forced' into a room with some strange children and 'expected' to make nice and play?

Even worse when one hits their teens!

Now, how one gets the adventure going is something else all together...


Hagy

 

[Mercule]

In our most recent/current game, we created high-level characters to blow off some steam. The DM had us create our characters more or less around the table, telling us that we needed to come up with a way that we all knew each other -- and we'd better figure out why we hooked up with a half-ogre (our brick).

That's where things started. The short version is that I threw out that my town had been razed by orcs, etc. about 15-20 years before and most of my family had perished. My sister, um, survived another 9 months until childbirth finished her off. Even though my new niece (yes, we have a half-ogre wench with full plate) was ugly and almost painful to look at, she was the only family I had left, so I raised her.

We took haven in a dwarven temple that had been set up in the borderlands and stayed in the rough vicinity for a while -- not at the temple, but hermiting nearby with the occasional trade. Over the years, we befriended a novice (now high level) cleric of Clanggedin.

The gnomish ranger was easy enough. One of her favored races is orc and she came to the area to hunt orcs. Being a gnome, she was allowed to seek haven briefly at the temple before moving on. She showed up at a time the rest of us were ready to move on and break some orcish skulls (yup, we're genocidal maniacs).

No one is really sure how the halfling rogue came into being, but he comes with the gnome. It really works pretty well for a halfling rogue, I think.

What kills me is that because of the backstory and having to wait for my niece to grow up before really starting adventuring, my human sorcerer is one of the oldest characters, even though the others are all non-human.

 

[Conaill]

late evening, and end to a large celebration. The streets still filled with common folk, when suddenly screams erupt and a dark figure dashes through the crowd, a horrid figure with the stench of the grave. The figure clutches a small wailing bundle and darts around you....

Rogue: I take advantage of the commotion to snip the purse off that fat merchant.
Wiz: My necro casts an illusion to throw off the persuers, then ushers the dark figure into an alley way.
Ftr/Brb: Celebration, you said? I challenge the loudest dwarf in the bar to an ale-drinking contest!
Pal: I chase after the dark figure through the crowd on my warhorse. I'll chop down anyone who detects as evil and gets in my way... that should speed up my progress somewhat.

Just a typical start of a campaign ...

 

[heirodule]

I started my current campaign with the party all together on the road to adventurein a small town. Looked like a lameo handwave opening, right?

Well, they get asked where they're from. They know. They get if they've come from ...

"from where"

"from ...."

DM: maybe he's saying some city name, but when he does you don't really pay any attention. In fact, you'd like to change the subject right now.

These are all hints that the PCs have already had a prior experience, and been mindwiped.

They're now about 6th level and about to meet the mindflayer who wiped them in their first (unplayed encounter) after they meet/defeat him, we'll run a "flashback" explaining the events.

Other ideas: You've all been invited to a dinner party. You have come to a lecture together.