Classic Campaign Starts?

[Mac Callum]

Just started a new solo-campaign last night that went well.

Player is a H-Elf Ranger. She starts on the borders of the town of Verge with her Ranger-Mentor (he's on the Border Watch). She only had a couple minutes to talk to him about the area (He phrased his answer as if he were teaching her) when a Messenger pigeon came flying in and whispered in the Mentor's ears. He said "Well, seems like I'm need to the South ... but your mother needs you back in town. Sounds important. You better get going."

There was some Railroading, but it went great. Mother had an old friend named Sindhar call in a favor, but it fell to her daughter to pay the favor. The PC just arrived in Threshold by the end of the first session, but not before saving a merchant barge from a goblin ambush.

And if those names look familiar to anyone, yes we are running In Search of Adventure in the Grand Duchy of Karameikos, updated to 3.5! We'll be starting with Castle Caldwell. Ol' Clifton is sending some of his mercenaries with the PC under her command, and the church is sending a warrior-acolyte with her in an attempt to track down the renegade Priestess Elwyn.

I think the key to any good adventure, but it's twice as key when starting up, is to have an alive & actice world. Relatives asking for favors, powerful Priesthoods imploring the PC's better nature - even the gov't could come knocking. "The United States needs your help Dr. Jones. If the Nazis get control of the Ark their armies will march unchecked across the face of the Earth."

Mac Callum

 

[CombatWombat51]

The PC's were all staying at a particular roadside inn, and otherwise had nothing in common. Also staying at the inn was a group of thieves, though this was unknown to the PC's. The thieves had stolen the eggs from a particular mother gold dragon, and the dragon wasn't pleased.

Through scrying, the dragon was able to discern the location of the eggs as being in this inn. So she came over and immolated the place, natch. She planned on simply burning everything to a crisp, and knew that her eggs would survive her fiery wrath. She wasn't out to kill everyone within, just root out her eggs. LG or not, a mother's ire isn't to be taken lightly and collateral damage is the price of war. Unfortunately for the dragon, the thieves conveniently left, with the eggs, shortly before the dragon came in the middle of the night and torched the place. The inn burned, people died, the thieves had long escaped, and the PC's were among those who survived. All the survivors wisely fled, as did the PC's who were no fools.

After she didn't find her eggs, she again attempted scrying, but found that her eggs couldn't be located (the thieves met up with their wizard ally). She flew along the road until she came to the PC's and the rest of the survivors, and basically told them the situation in the form of a warning which carried the tone of "if I find out that any of you are hiding my eggs, you're toast." She then flew off to search.

The PC's took it upon themselves to find the eggs ASAP, so to not give the dragon the idea that frying them was a good precautionary measure. The beauty of it, as my players and I saw it, was that while they were railroaded out of the inn, they weren't railroaded into going after the eggs. It just seemed like a good idea. This also had special impact with my long-term players because I'm quite a member of BADD, and dragons are extremely rare IMCs, and I don't think they'd ever seen me use a gold in all our collective years of gaming. And at first level as their first encounter, it was all the sweeter

 

[Hand of Evil]

don't forget to have the PC do some of the work for you, just ask them for the story of how they came together, then grab and run with it.