Starting a new game

[BSF]

The Mentor - I have brought you together because my people tell me each of you have an unique skill (not ture but they don't need to know that) that sets you apart from others. Evil stalks the land and I need you to stand forth and hold that evil at bay.

Oh, if you are wondering what do you get out of it, lets just say there are rewards for this line of work, lots and lots of reward.

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Basicly the players meet in the study of some powerful NPC, all tell the story of being asked to to meet this person, how it interested them, and now they meet each other. They are then given the mission.

Heh - so far at least two of the characters are evil. I told them from the outset that they could create any character they wanted, but I would not arbitrarily force the group to accept any character.

One is very self-serving and one day hopes to bend demons to his will. Another has had a horrid life and the player is hoping to play the redemption through associating with good and noble heroes.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Heh - so far at least two of the characters are evil. I told them from the outset that they could create any character they wanted, but I would not arbitrarily force the group to accept any character.

One is very self-serving and one day hopes to bend demons to his will. Another has had a horrid life and the player is hoping to play the redemption through associating with good and noble heroes.

Ah, but this is where the lord could talk to those players (off-line), the self-serving one offered power and knowledge, the story of evil forces being used to stop other evil forces. The one looking for redemption, becomes the informat for the lord, working with the party but yet passing info back to the mentor.

 

[d12]

So you have a large group, with a variety of mostly well developed backgrounds and they need to all come together? I like the idea of a common enemy. There is some person or organization that is equally getting on everyone's nerves. Lets say its an minor crime lord and his gang but you can change it to whatever. Let's call him "Wu" and his gang is "Wu's Dragons." Here's how the organization connects up with everybody.

The city guide - well, the PC is a rogue. Maybe she was hired by Wu to do some minor job and it got botched. Now Wu wants his money back but the "city guide" spent it already or something.

Martial artist - he got into a bar brawl with a bunch of Wu's Dragons when they didn't like his "funny haircut" or the fact that he ordered hot water to drink.

The wizard - Wu's right hand man is Narg - a big burly half-orc. Narg killed a friend of the wizard's or crossed him in some other way.

The Shaman - the Shaman had a vision about Wu. He's been following his Dragons around the city ever since.

The Wanderer - the Wanderer has arrived in a city where no one knows his name, no one that is except for Wu (who used to be a pirate too! Arg!)

Cleric of the Sea God - He saw some of Wu's Dragons beat a begger to death for fun. Or maybe he saw some of them disrespecting the Sea God's temple?

Include somewhere that all of the characters have made some very careful inquires about Wu and his Dragons.

Fill in the blanks for the rest of the PCs. The characters are brought together when they each get a strange note from a mysterious source named "Z." Z writes, "If you want to strike a blow against Wu and his Dragons, meet at the Staute of Zues at midnight." When the characters arrive, they meet each other and Z is nowhere to be found. Just as they are beginning to understand what's going on, a bunch of Dragons come running out of a nearby building to attack.


adventure, blah blah

In the end, "Z" turns out to be a rival crime lord. he arranged for the PCs to meet and also arranged for the ambush by the Dragons. he wants the PCs to take out Wu, so Z can mive into Wu's territory.


How is this not railroading?

Give the PCs a chance to discover what's really going on. Also give them a chance to foil the ambush at the beginning. As long as they have meaningful choices, its not railroading.