Looking for Campaign Starter ideas

[ReeboKesh]

I'd recommend talking to the players. But you might also what to check out this. Its a free NPC with campaign idea produced by Bards and Sages (written be me). Basic premise of the first adventure is the players help safeguard fleeing civilians to safety as they meet the campaign's main villian, a druid with awakened dinosaurs.

Yeah I've spoken to the players in the past and they usually only want input on the game system itself. I also like to surprise my players and this first session will be something we haven't done in a game before, nothing incredibly original ofcourse but it will be an interesting session.

I'll check out your link. I used a druid as a villain once before and was surprised at how tough a well played one can be.
Reebo

 

[Kaladhan]

In my next campaign, the players will start at fourth level. The first game session will start by a party made in their honor by a rich family. It is to thank them for their services (backstory of the campaign). I will use the party as an excuse to introduce important NPCs for the reminder of the campaign.

 

[Voadam]

Ninja attack!

Your first word for the first game should be "Init!"

Get them going with a rollicking fight and move on from there.

 

[Tewligan]

How about this? The PC's are all amnesiac slaves owned by a mysterious organization, who were killed but mysteriously come back to life in a tavern situated on a small island from which they have to escape?

I was hoping someone had a list of ways to start the first session of a campaign without using the following:
- PCs meet in a tavern
- PCs are all slaves and need to escape
- the PCs are undead and must find out how they 'died'
- the PCs are shipwrecked on an island
- the PCs all work for the same organization
- the PCs all have amnesia

Oh, wait...never mind.

 

[ReeboKesh]

How about this? The PC's are all amnesiac slaves owned by a mysterious organization, who were killed but mysteriously come back to life in a tavern situated on a small island from which they have to escape?

Oh, wait...never mind.

<cough> smarta$$ <cough>

 

[ephemeron]

For a twist, how about instead of a campaign prelude, a prelude campaign:

I've wanted to do something like this for a while now. The catalyst was a collection of R.E. Howard's Conan stories, which had a preface that talked about how the order in which the stories were written had no relationship to their internal chronological order, and how Howard took inspiration for this from the way that people he'd known told stories about their lives.

I was going to have the players design 1st-, 5th-, and 15th-level versions of their characters, with most of the sessions being flashbacks from the viewpoint of the 15th-level versions, and encouraging the players to initiate flashbacks. Unfortunately, I have yet to find players and time for such a campaign.

 

[Asmor]

That sounds awesome

 

[GrumpyOldMan]

For something a little different you could go to http://www.lythia.com and look at Jede, and a Shower of Silver. There is more to come on this area (so i understand)

 

[Neil Bishop]

Ever since Conan the Barbarian was released about 25 years ago I have wanted to start a campaign by giving high-level evil characters to the players and then tell them to destroy a village. The village would be defended by significantly less powerful defenders so, hopefully, the players would create a massacre.

Of course, the next step is to have the players' real characters be survivors of this massacre. Their desire for revenge/retribution would be an important hook as the campaign progresses.

I have always thought that this would be the perfect way to begin a Midnight campaign.

 

[GrumpyOldMan]

The Hârn rules suggest a pregame – a short discussion/game between referee and each player, individually. Characters are taken from their birth to ‘now’, they end up with a background, family and history and their path to their current profession has brought them in contact with several npc’s. This can take some time - though I can do it in an hour or so these days (but I know the game world backwards). It often requires some quick thinking by the referee, but if done well, many things are possible. It should be fairly easy to give characters common acquaintances or friends; it’s even possible to make them relatives!