When starting a new Campaign

[Wild Gazebo]

I once started a campaign by thrusting some of my DM duties upon the players.

I had them create 0 lvl characters belonging to a small village in a world I created, (well, to be fair, several people created it) each character a single xp point from entering the class of their choice.

I then had the group design and populate their own home town--I have NEVER seen such intense character background since. They drew maps, stated NPCs, created patrons, love triangles, villains, and even fleshed out a monastery 10 leagues away for an orphan character.

I then played the first 4 or 5 sessions within a small farming community. And then, when the world started crumbling, the players...not just the characters...had an emotional investment in the game. It was really great.

I have tried this twice more--very unsuccessfully. So, I can't say it was really my stunning DMing skills so much as a great group of people.

But perhaps some of you have the right set of people...so give it a try.

 

[Edgewood]

Some good ideas here folks. One of the methods I have used in the past for the opening scene of a campaign went like this.

DM: Okay, Rogan (Ranger), you are the first to run into the room, you stop and hold the door open for the others, yelling at them to get in!

Player (Rogan): All right Hurry boys, lets hustle.

DM: Okay Eam (Sorcerer) You hobble as best as you can. You have a slight graze on the back of your left leg where blood is now soaking into your breaches. The rip where the cut is suggests that whatever got you has big claws. When you run into the room you nearly collapse from all of the running.

DM: Arleth (Rogue) You run in with the breath of the thing chasing you on your back. You practically dive in just as the others force the door closed and place a wooden board across to bolt it.

As DM I then have them explain how they got into this situation, what led up to this moment, and why?

Sometimes it's good to just simply drop them into the action.

 

[Ethalias]

It's only a cliche if it doesn't work. If it works, it's archetypal.

I think that's sig-worthy enough to make me create a sig.. I'm of the opinion that sometimes, especially with new players, Archetypes can be really useful and fun; it can help people gain a reference in what can be quite an alien experience..

Annnyway, back on topic..

I'm starting prep on my first 4E campaign (and my first long-term game hopefully) for new players, and I'm planning on them starting as slaves of a corrupt Eladrin lord, stranded in the feywild. When they eventually emerge into the "real" world, they've been subtle altered by their time in Fey environs and hence NPCs will generally react to them with caution.. Hopefully that combined with a certain nooby acceptance will be enough to tie them together. I think perhaps following on from reading this thread I will combine this with kicks and bangs theory, of things they want to do when they get back to their old home..

 

[Hussar]

In my current campaign (which just started - see the link in my sig) I did three things.

1. I started with a little mini game where I placed about 50 Magic cards out on the table. Going around the table, each player picked two for themselves, then one for the person to their left and then one for the person on their right and then one more for themselves. Anything from those cards could be used in their character background - anything meaning the art, the text, the artist's name if that floats your boat, anything. In the final two rounds, each player had to trade one card with another player - those two cards, which need not be linked to each other, indicate the relationship between those two characters. Two rounds of that and you have an entire group, complete with connections to at least (possibly more) two other characters.

It worked very, very well. ((Note, this is NOT my idea, I stole it from Fear the Boot. ))

2. I started the campaign in medias res. They started out on the deck of a badly damaged sailing ship. As they looked around, and poked a bit, I had a large (well Huge actually) centipede crash out of the aft cabin and try to eat them. After the first round of combat, I did a flashback, which brings me to point 3.

3. At four points during the first adventure I placed flashback scenes. The first one was after the first round of combat. The second was in the middle of another combat. The third was while exploring late in the adventure. The fourth (which hasn't happened yet) will happen at the end and will include a nice little foreshadow for the rest of the campaign. Each interlude was there for exposition and also to allow the players to expound on their character backgrounds.

I found this plan worked very, very well. The players seemed really keen and it kept the interest level at the table very high.

 

[Shroomy]

The campaign I'm currently playing in began with an attack by pirates...necromantic airship pirates who flung an advanced boarding party of skeletons at our own ship.

In the last 3.5e game I played in, we literally began at a bar and overheard some rumors from a bunch of farmers.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Two words:

ROLL INITIATIVE

After the combat, I explain how they got into that situation.

I'm not sure if that counts as "cliche" or not, but it works, it's energetic, and it gets the awkward out of the way very quickly.