Am I mean?

[Umbran]

With new players, I'd probably not do that. They ought to have some time to settle in and understand how the game works before you drop really hairy and uncontrollable situations on them.

Even with more experience players, some will not respond well to what they may perceive as a "bait and switch", where they had some expectations that you violate right off.

 

[FireLance]

Ok, I may not have them beaten. But it is very critical that they get arrested.
In the plot they come across a shakey looking elf that hands them a treasure map. This map happened to be stolen from the Queen. They are then arrested and the captian of the gaurd makes a deal with them to eliminate a Duke who has been causing trouble latley in exchange for the map, which will lead to their next campain.

Frankly, I don't understand why it is necessary for them to be arrested. They don't need to be in trouble with the law for the captain of the guard to try and make a deal with them, unless you want to use the threat of going to prison to force the PCs to take on the mission. IMO, this is the kind of heavy-handed DMing that is unlikely to result in an enjoyable game experience.

The old adage of catching more flies with honey than vinegar applies. Give the PCs the opportunity to perform some heroic deed, e.g. capturing a gang of thieves, or breaking into a hideout to recover the map (if the map is somehow important to the plot and needs to be introduced). Then have the captain of the guard praise their ability and courage and ask whether they are interested in accepting a sensitive mission for the Queen for which they will be richly rewarded if they succeed. I bet you the PCs will be much more willing to go along with the captain of the guard's request and they are likely to feel much better about their characters and your game.

 

[FreeXenon]

Newer players may not take well to this. More seasoned and or mature players may love this possibility, especially if they have the ability to escape and find their stuff, and eventually get revenge on their captors/beaters. =) Being able to get a revenge of sorts either directly or indirectly makes this type of things potentially worth while and enjoyable for players.

If you really want to do this then you may want to let them know that this IS going to happen, and it is required for plot purposes. It will take away the element of surprise for you, but may allow them to start planning things in their minds, and mute the potential hurt feelings. Like others said "the best laid plans of DM's are often laid to waste by the Players' creativity".

I once started a Dragons Star game with the players awaking on a planet bound escape pod with life support failing, and them having amnesia. I told them how we were going to start and they planned accordingly. They enjoyed trying to keep the life support from failing and landing without dying.

 

[S'mon]

Yes you're mean, and you're starting the game with an uber-railroad, which is well, extremely bad.
My advice:

Don't play the part where they're being caught and beaten.

Start the game AFTER these events and let them escape.

Exactly, yup.

 

[Ampolitor]

Imo

well you might discourage them if they get stomped right off the bad, maybe have them get confronted and told of the arrest, but give them a way out, now the entire time they have to look over their back, it might add to the adventure, and to find out why. a good sub plot. If they get stomped they wont be excited about their characters, considering them as weak. Thats just my opinion.

 

[S'mon]

Ok, I may not have them beaten. But it is very critical that they get arrested.
In the plot they come across a shakey looking elf that hands them a treasure map. This map happened to be stolen from the Queen. They are then arrested and the captian of the gaurd makes a deal with them to eliminate a Duke who has been causing trouble latley in exchange for the map, which will lead to their next campain.

Ouch. Doesn't sound good to me.

I advise not creating 'plot' as if you were writing a novel. Create NPCs with agendas, let the PCs interact with them, and see what happens.

 

[Hussar]

It's a refreshing situation when pretty much everyone is giving the same advice.

I think you can boil it down to:

1. Particularly for brand new players (and even for not so new players), having specific plots depend upon specific events in the campaign is a bad idea. It's railroading, it's generally considered a bad idea and it's likely to be received poorly.

2. Because these are new players, let them stretch out their wings a bit before you start hedging them into specific stories. Not that you can't drop hooks, of course, but, gently.

3. Softly, softly catchee monkey. At this point, the players have no real expectations about what is going to happen. How these first sessions go will color their perceptions for a very long time. I might suggest letting them be awesome for a while. Put your plot on the back burner, just for a little while, and let the players sit in the driver's seat for a bit. See what they want to do. Then, once you have an idea what motivates them, use that to entice them into the plotline that you want to do. Never push when gentle suggestion will work much, much more effectively.

 

[scruffygrognard]

Another vote for not starting them with such a smack-down.

At the same time, I once started the players (guys I've known and gamed with for a long time) in the dark hold of a slaver ship, sweaty and chained together.

Luckily it worked out as I had hoped, with the fighter type prying a nail from the deck and the thief using that nail to pick the lock that held the slaves' chain in place. After that the freed slaves defeated their captors, gained their freedom, and picked up some nice equipment for themselves.

In hindsight, however, things could have easily have gone horribly wrong (i.e. the players could have balked at such an inglorious beginning and gotten sullen) so I got lucky.

 

[malcolypse]

Probably, if these folks wanted to be "n00bs" and get "pwned" they would have started playing WoW. The fact that they came to a real life role playing game would seem to me to indicate that they want to roleplay. Please at least talk to the players before hand so that the eminent beatdown won't completely sour them on the hobby before they get a chance to explore all it's splendors.

I've been through games where very similar circumstances have occured, and refused for many years to play in games ran by people who have started campaigns that way. You have to be prepared for the PC that will tell any authority figure that they have a brunch meeting with some associates that really must take precedence, so sorry.

I once had a DM have the party summoned before a goddess, who put a geas/quest on me to go on some quest to save the world after she spent a quarter of an hour bad-mouthing my character's patron deity, his personal appearance, and the circumstances of his birth. I had the character sit down on the floor and explain that dehydration would kill him before her spell, so she wouldn't have to worry about his murder tainting her lawfulness or goodness, but since he was part of the group that was "vital to the survival of the world" she should turn back time to his arrival and try again with a civil tongue.

Make sure you're telling a story with them, not to them, or they'll resent it and might miss out on roleplaying all together because of it.

Oh, and no, you're not mean.

 

[athos]

I want to make sure I have their attention early on, possibly help them get into char. a little faster.

Maybe a carrot instead of a giant stick would be a better idea. Let them know up front you are awarding extra xp for good ideas, good role-playing, and staying in character during the game.

Pissing people off just to show you are in charge will only reinforce whatever negative nerd pictures they have in their heads about D&D GMs.