How do you like to start a campaign

[pemerton]

Most of the games I’ve played over the last few years have some element of collaborative PC creation. It works so well that I don’t really expect I’ll ever run a game in the future where we don’t do that. Some games have very formalized rules or procedures for it, others are pretty loose.

<snip>

Any games I run, I’ll adapt these session zero processes for character creation.

For me, it's not necessarily collaborative PC creation - or, at least, not in a strict sense. But the starting situation has to have some sort of narrative coherence, vis-a-vis the PCs that the players have created. And the players are pretty central to ensuring this.

The further details are system dependent; because different systems create different sorts of PCs who will make sense in different sorts of situation.

Here are a few examples:

4e D&D Dark Sun: Repost- first session of Dark Sun campaign

The players built their PCs, and came up with kickers, one of which connected directly to the campaign backstory (the death of Tyr's Sorcerer-King); and I integrated those kickers into an opening situation.​

Prince Valiant: Prince Valiant RPG - played a session today

The players built their PCs, and then decided that two - who had turned out very similarly, mechanically - must be father and son; I narrated the meeting with a third PC as all were on their way to a tournament.​

Burning Wheel: Burning Wheel actual play

My friend and I decided we would create a PC each and co-GM, each framing and adjudicating the adversity for the other. We agreed on a starting situation that would bring our PCs together, as rogues with a degree of common purpose.​

Classic Traveller: Classic Traveller - session report with reflections on the system [long]

The PCs rolled up their PCs (Traveller-style), and I rolled up a starting world, and we worked out what the PCs were all doing there and how they fitted together; and then I rolled up a patron encounter, and fitted that into the PCs' backstories.​

Torchbearer 2e: Torchbearer 2nd ed actual play

The two Elven PCs had once met in Elfhome, and one of them and another PC had met at the Wizard's Tower; the PCs met on the road, heading to the Tower of Stars (the first adventure site). I introduced some elements into the scenario to fit the PCs.

Of all my examples, I think this is the closest to classic D&D (which seems fitting for a game that is, to a significant degree, a homage to classic D&D).​