A beginning is a critical time...

[Dr Simon]

One of my favourite bits of DMing a campaign is the start, but a good campaign opening is like a good opening line in a book, and it can be tricky to get that first hook just right. You need, IMO, to give the players something interesting to do right of the bat, and then in the course of that first adventure introduce one or more concepts that may return. As it's RPing and not writing a book, it's also good if the first adventure can allow the player character actions to determine some of the tone and direction of the game (i.e. do they end up on the run from the law because they accidentally burned down a town, as if that would ever happen )

What's been your most memorable campaign opener, and did the rest of the campaign follow on the same vein? Or is meeting in a tavern still the best way to go?

 

[delericho]

I've just realised - my new campaign starts tonight, and one of the players has cancelled. That's generally not an issue, except that since his was the only character with a Charisma in double figures, I had planned to use him as the vector for my first adventure hook! Oh dear.

As a rule, I start a new campaign in the tavern, as this tends to be the focal point of the community. I would go with the temple, but players tend to be a bit wary of having their characters be too religious.

However, I try very hard to avoid having that first hook come to them in the tavern, because that tends to be old hat. Instead, I use that initial scene simply to build mood, introduce the PCs and a number of NPCs who may or may not be important later, and so forth. Basically, the idea is to provide the players with a sense of "this is what we're fighting for".

I try to have the first adventure hook come to the PCs through their backgrounds, which tends to be a bit tricky as these tend not to be very fleshed out at this stage. However, as no man is an island, there's always someone who can call on the PCs, whether because they're in trouble, or (better) because they have a job offer or an unexpected opportunity for them to follow up on.

Failing that, just have them see some "help wanted" posters. I'm of the opinion that the players really have to work with the DM at the start of the campaign - it's not the DM's responsibility (well, not solely) to think of a reason for the PCs to go on the adventure. If they don't the campaign will kinda suck. So, it's for the players to come up with reasons why their PCs would go on the adventure.

Incidentally, my new campaign is set in the kingdom in which the monarch and many of the nobles are off on crusade. The initial hook features one Aldus, an acolyte of the temple of Heironymus (sp?), who was an acolyte at about the same time as my absent PC (albeit in another temple), and with whom the PC has a friendly rivalry.

Anyway, it seems young Aldus has gotten himself in a spot of bother, and his superior the Prelate (one of the most influential priests in the city, and thus one of the most important men left in the kingdom) is looking for a few "capable and discreet" people to help sort it out.

Things are going to get a tad more confusing once the Prelate sends them to the Velvet Glove, the most notorious crime boss in the city...

 

[Yair]

I try to make the players weave their background to serve the beginning, rather than weaving the beginning to suit their backgrounds. I might say "the adventure will begin with the king's herald riding to the village square, calling for volunteers to serve in the war up north". Having been informed, the players can build their characters to be there and want to join each for their own reasons.

This really most of the burden of a great beginning on the player's shoulders, which is great since I've got other thing to worry about. All I have to do is provide an evocative enough scene, with a clear message on the future for them to build on.

 

[Dr Simon]

A twist on the old tavern ploy which I was considering on using (but now be pushed to second session or so) is for the PCs to be staying overnight at an inn which catches fire (due to the actions of a local protection racket with grievances against the innkeeper, but that won't be obvious at first). Since I'm using Arcana Unearthed I was thinking of having the whole thing started by a Conjure Energy Creature (lovely Fire Monkeys), giving them something to fight whilst escaping/helping others to escape. There's a kidnapping going on in the confusion too, by the way...

Another trope I've been playing with the imprisonment. There are two ways to go with this, and I think I may use them for campaigns of very different tone.

One - a slap on the wrist. The PCs have all spent a bit of time in jail for minor crime/frame by rival etc. but the regime isn't too harsh and the jailer even directs them to his cousin's tavern where they can find work (thus essentially starting things the old-fashioned way). This way they get their gear back when they're released, but it gives a connection to the party. The players come up with the reason for their arrest, which can feed back into the campaign if a vendetta is involved.

Two - slaves in the salt mines. Prisoners of the bad guys, the PCs have to escape with just their wits and improvised tools. Probably this would take more than one session, with much of the time dealing with aspects of prison life like the Mr. Big character and black marketeering for minor items (I'd probably skip an 'You've got a purty mouth' kind of stuff though...). There was an old Traveller adventure called Prison Planet that ran this kind of scenario. Fighing your way out isn't going to be a workable option. This would work better for a system where the PCs abilities are more inherent, like RuneQuest or Iron Heroes. Things they learn from fellow prisoners provide hooks for when they do escape (buried treasure, that kind of thing).

 

[SunRaven01]

My "off" campaign (that I run a session of when I get bored of RttToEE) started with the group as "old travelling companions" who are currently imprisioned in the home of a merchant -- they were hired to steal an object from him, but bungled it and got caught. The campaign opened with the group in a stable that was hastily converted to a jail while the merchant decided if he was going to turn them over to the law, or attempt to buy their loyalty. Their first adventure was escaping from the horse-stalls-turned-jail-cells, defeating the guards, and finding their equipment so they could get away.

 

[Ulrick]

In the next campaign I plan on running, the opening scene is where the characters are at a higher level than they actually are. I won't explain this to them at the time. Say, for instance, they are chasing somebody across a desert and they encounter an adult blue dragon. As first level characters, there is NO WAY they could fight this thing and win. Yet if they do attack the creature, they'll discover that they could hit it fairly easily. Example: A fighter shoots an arrow at the creature, the player rolls low, I'll describe: "Your arrow streaks and lodges in the dragon's throat." Or a wizard PC casts magic missile, I'll describe: "The cone of cold creates ice on the dragon's wing--the creature shrieks."

After they've defeated the monster, they'll have a moment to collect their thoughts. I'll say something like, "It's been a maddening journey. And you know the trials and tribulations you've suffered, such as those with the Witchlord, are nothing compared to what's to come. And then you remember how it all began, long ago, in your home village when you found the dead knight hanging from the Wishing Tree...."

And then the 1st adventure truly begins there with their 1st level characters.

I got the idea from The Dark Tower series by Stephen King, notibly the first book: "The Gunslinger."
"The Man in Black fled across the desert, and the Gunslinger followed."

Change "Man in black" with the main bad guy of you campaign and "the Gunslinger" with "adventurers" or "Mercenaries" (the PCs).

The rest of the 1st book was series of flashbacks. In a way, the first part of the campaign is a flashback...yet in someways it isn't.

 

[GoodKingJayIII]

Two - slaves in the salt mines. Prisoners of the bad guys, the PCs have to escape with just their wits and improvised tools. Probably this would take more than one session, with much of the time dealing with aspects of prison life like the Mr. Big character and black marketeering for minor items (I'd probably skip an 'You've got a purty mouth' kind of stuff though...). There was an old Traveller adventure called Prison Planet that ran this kind of scenario. Fighing your way out isn't going to be a workable option. This would work better for a system where the PCs abilities are more inherent, like RuneQuest or Iron Heroes. Things they learn from fellow prisoners provide hooks for when they do escape (buried treasure, that kind of thing).

Actually I've been considering this very thing for a new campaign world involving Iron Heroes. Essentially, I figured I'd ask the PCs to include include in their backgrounds that they are slaves, etc. etc. On the one hand I think it's a great opening to a story for low-level characters: it's dramatic, provides an opportunity for all the characters to meet, and allows them to establish contacts that could be around for their entire careers.

As much as I like the idea, I've been struggling it. On the one hand I like to have a plausible hook for adventuring other than tavern-lounging. On the other, I worry I'm directing the story a little too much and maybe forcing my hand on the tone of the story. Still, I think it's a good starting point and could easily be pulled off in 1 session at most.

 

[Wik]

A fairly recent campaign opened with the PCs on a river barge, heading to the starting town. The barge was in the middle of a storm... and that's when the slaves decided to revolt. The barge was swarming with low-level mooks, that were very easy for even 1st level PCs to take down - but the encounter was still a lot of fun, what with the PCs being tosses all over the rocking boat. It was also good because it helped explain some of the conceits of the setting (slaves are a part of the society, and slaves trying to escape = bad). And, of course, it let the players kick some butt on the first fight, and that's always fun.

 

[Voadam]

In Media Res

For my Wildwood campaign the world sucks in characters from other worlds and throws them in a violent wilderness with lots of predators and prey. I have the campaign home base being a village of benevolent humanoid dogs who take in such outsiders.

So the game started with two PCs who had arrived at various times in the past and joined the village. They are out hunting for food to bring back to the village when the world drags in the third PC who is dropped in front of a hidden bear just down the path. The bear rises up to attack the new PC and we start with an immediate combat as the two villager PCs feel obligated to help out newbies according to the village's tradition.

So I've got hunting in the forest, tough animal fight, and odd characters from different worlds. All themes I was going for in the campaign.

 

[Quartz]

I try to make the players weave their background to serve the beginning, rather than weaving the beginning to suit their backgrounds. I might say "the adventure will begin with the king's herald riding to the village square, calling for volunteers to serve in the war up north".

A related way of starting is to have the PCs return home from the war, only to find that Things Are Not Quite Right.