Starting a Campaign in media res?

[Pants]

I think I got that term right.

Anyone who's done this before, share your thoughts and insights. I'm planning on starting my next campaign that way, with the characters rolling for initiative as their fox hole is rushed by another swarm of ratmen.

Got any pointers, fun stories, or advice on what to expect, what to do, and what not to do. Please share, it sounds like a great way to start a new game and I really want to try it.

 

[Nightfall]

Three questions:

Which breeds (if any)?

Two SL or WH version?

Any chance I can design your major NPC ratmen?!?

 

[Chaldfont]

I did this once. I started the campaign with a battle between the PCs and a group of privateers. The battle was on the decks of two ships, locked together on the rolling seas during a furious storm. I even knocked off some hp and spells to indicate that the battle had been going on for a while.

Just when the players thought they had figured out what was going on, I had both ships be attacked by sahuagin!

It was a great way to start a swashbuckling campaign filled with action.

 

[shilsen]

Started both of my currently running Eberron campaigns with "Roll initiative" (both groups of players thought I was kidding for a few moments ), one with the PCs kicking in the door of a warehouse and fighting the people inside, and the other with the PCs' ship being attacked by sahuagin.

I definitely recommend the approach.

 

[D-rock]

I started the pcs in a prison, and had the adventure start with them reaching through the bars and snaping the guards neck. The whole prison situation is a little cliche, I admit, but it worked.

 

[IronWolf]

I was a player in a short lived campaign that started with us escorting a caravan and then coming under attack. That was the background leading up to the first session. That first session started with us finally recovering from being knocked unconcious. It was a fun start actually.

 

[The Shaman]

Our Modern PbP game began with the player character paratroopers jumping out the door of the transport plane and spotting enemy insurgents on their DZ as they landed.

 

[Mercule]

Sounds like a fun idea. Unfortunately, I have at least one player who would object to even that level of being kept in the dark.

 

[Von Ether]

I think I got that term right.

Anyone who's done this before, share your thoughts and insights. I'm planning on starting my next campaign that way, with the characters rolling for initiative as their fox hole is rushed by another swarm of ratmen.

Got any pointers, fun stories, or advice on what to expect, what to do, and what not to do. Please share, it sounds like a great way to start a new game and I really want to try it.

Depending on the GMs, I think more should.

I've seen too many GMs try to railroad the game in the very first session to "kick-start" the game in a certain direction. If they had just started it in the "middle" past the railroad point, they might have done better.

 

[Wraith Form]

I've often been curious how in media res isn't the exact same thing as railroading from the players' perspectives--?