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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Scotley" data-source="post: 5135834" data-attributes="member: 11520">I've had some success with starting the game in the middle of the action. Usually this is an attempt on my part to avoid the time honored 'you're all sitting in the tavern when an old man walks in...' In one game worked with all the PC's on their backgrounds and had them all converge on the same place in a city at the same time in the opening moments of the game. They did not know each other, but all arrived in time to rescue a wedding party from an ambush. They would meet again when they all came together to accept the reward offered by the father of the bride for their help. In another game being run here at ENWorld all the characters are Constables in the same ward of a city. The action started a couple of rounds into a fight. Each round my co-DM and I posted not only the current action, but a flashback to one of the events that led up to the current battle. By the time the battle was over the players were all up on the mystery they were working to solve and could jump right into the investigation. I guess it worked well given that the game is still going strong a couple of years later. Another game I'm running here started with the reading of a will. All the characters had some connection to the deceased. They were all offered a piece of the Estate in exchange for finishing the decease's life work--a finding and exploring of the Tomb of Horrors. He finally figured out where it was, but didn't live to explore it. I can't take full credit for this one as I had read of a similar start in another thread. The other way I've seen this tavern scene avoided is to work with the players up front and establish that they are all working toward the same goal before the game starts. The result is the same, but you avoid actually playing out the scene. It can lead to better party design as well if the players are in on the planning. You can even go so far as to let the players decide how they'll get together. As my time for game prep is at a premium these days I'm drawn more and more to a more cooperative design philosophy. Not only does it let the players do some of the heavy lifting when it comes to generating ideas, but I hope it will also result in greater buy in and interest than me deciding the course of the game.</blockquote>

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