New party: tavern or backstory?

[Li Shenron]

What's your favourite way of putting the PCs together when starting a campaign (or after a TPK) and why?

Do you prefer to have the new PCs meet for the first time at the start of the adventure, e.g. in the proverbial tavern or another location?

Or do you prefer to ask the players a backstory on why their PCs know each other?

Or do you just totally ignore the issue and roll for initiative?

Personally my favourite way is asking the player to explain their PCs relationships prior to the campaign, but I wouldn't force them to add a lot of details. Just a simple explanation is enough, and more details can be retroactively created later on. Also I wouldn't force them to make it so that everybody knows everybody else.

 

[DrunkonDuty]

Mmmmmmm. How about: "Why are you all in this tavern?"

Actually I like a bit of back story. BAscially I ask my players why are your characters friends? And I rather insist on the friends thing, I hate running games for parties that implode.

 

[Li Shenron]

Mmmmmmm. How about: "Why are you all in this tavern?"

Just to clarify...

I meant whether you prefer the PCs to know each other or not at the start of a new campaign.

IMXP the vast majority of the players like writing a backstory for their own PC, and many of them have the habit of writing it IMHO even too detailed and glorious. That can easily also include the most recent event, i.e. why they are in the tavern.

But normally players don't seem to take initiative in discussing with each other if & why their PCs have a past together. It's quite rare that they do this on their own initiative, maybe because you cannot do it yourself, you need to ask the other player and come up with a joint idea that both like.

 

[delericho]

These days I start my campaigns with the party already together. Typically, we'll sort out the details of this backstory in the character creation session.

 

[Nagol]

For typical D&D, I dislike more than a line or two of backstory -- the PCs are newbiesand are out to forge their story together.

My favourite start isn't the tavern, it is "The boat just docked and the gangplank is down. The trip was long enough for you to get to know other like-minded adventurers on-board. <Insert gaming area> is reputed to be filled with wonders and treasure. What do you want to do?"

This has the advantage of putting the players into an "us-vs-them" mind-set right at the start -- everyone is new and knows no one but each other.

 

[Gilladian]

I like it if SOME of the PCs know each other. In the last campaign, the fighter had come to town seeking aid for his wounded mentor. He met the cleric at the temple. The rogue was also a newcomer and was hanging out at the Inn, where the Wizard decided to stay when he arrived in town. The two pairs bonded, and then they met when offered a "job".

The meetings of the two pairs were handled off-stage, as backstory, but they roleplayed their friendships as they then met each other and formed a group.

 

[nerfherder]

These days I start my campaigns with the party already together. Typically, we'll sort out the details of this backstory in the character creation session.

Ditto. Occassionally, I'll suggest something (I ran a 3E Dwarf campaign once where they were all family - including the adopted half-orc), but usually I'll just ask them to come up with some relationships and/or links between characters. Just enough to create a veneer of versimilitude.

 

[Wednesday Boy]

I like when the PCs have some sort of shared background that is created cooperatively. I find that usually provides the GM with more interesting plot hooks to use and it gives the PCs better motivations for staying together as a party.

If they players want the PCs to meet up for the first time at the start of the adventure, I would find it helpful to have a metagame discussion about why the PCs will stick together. "Even though my smuggler seems like a mercenary, he really does have a good heart and I'm going to have him stick around to save the princess and fight the bad guy, even if it doesn't seem to be in his best interest."

 

[Hand of Evil]

What I ask my players to do is to "tell me how they meet" and "what are they doing" at the start of the campagin (most of the time they just are sitting in a taver talking or on the road).

It gets interesting and you can pull some interesting plot hooks from their stories. I then work with the players for the introduction to the campaign.

 

[Klaus]

IME, not having a shared background has often led to intra-party conflicts, so I always work with the PCs to ensure the everyone knows everyone through someone (much like the cast of Friends).