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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Wik" data-source="post: 5319310" data-attributes="member: 40177">I generally prefer the Media Res approach, and my group tends to like it.  Starting a campaign with having the players introduce their characters and then saying "roll for initiative" is a damned fine way to start.A great approach I've used in the past is to have the opening scene (which is a throwaway, has no relation to the campaign, establishes some of the cool things the PCs can do, and is designed for the PCs to kick serious butt) advance in tiers.  Essentially, I introduce the campaign to the PCs bit by bit during that opening scene.  Maybe each round of the combat, I give them a bit more of the exposition on why they're in that fight, until by the end of the combat, the Players know what's going on (sort of).As an example, in a 3.5E game I ran a few years ago, I gave the players the basic idea of the campaign - a Roman-themed game, set in an environment sort of similar to ten kingdoms China.  The PCs were all members of a paramilitary group.  Our players created characters, and introduced each other to the group.  I don't remember the characters (it's been awhile), but I think we had a war priest character, a fighter, and a warmage.  Then they rolled initiative, and I described a river barge, being tossed in violent rapids as a storm beared down on them.  And as lightning flashed, the PCs looked down upon the dozen or so rowing slaves who chose this moment to make a desperate bid for freedom... (yes, the PCs were killing slaves.  Which perfectly set up the idea of the PCs being actual members of the culture, as opposed to people with modern ideals in a brutal medieval world).  After the first round, I described how the warmage had learned his spells in the imperial magic school, and how the recent kingdom divisions had created a schism among the arcane types.  I had a slave curse out the cleric's religion, calling them mongrels, and described a bit of the religion in the area.  And I had the fighter learning a bit about imperial weaponry.Round three was for why the PCs were on that ship, and where the ship was destined - a distant town on the border of two kingdoms and a ruined city, where the PCs were to investigate.... something (I forget which, now).  Round four introduced the fact that the PCs had some legal powers, and were capable of sentencing these slaves as they saw fit.  It also introduced the fact that the ship captain was a bit nervous around the PCs because of their order.By the time the fight was over, the players had a damned good feeling for the setting, and this continued as play progressed.  If I hadn't got sick and tired of trying to run 3.5E, we'd probably still be playing that campaign.  It was a lot of fun (of particular note - the time TWENTY ZOMBIES snuck up on the PCs in the middle of the night).</blockquote>

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