"...you all meet at an inn.."
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Robert Ranting
First Post
Generally the approach that I have found the most affective is to have the PCs be brought together by a person of authority and given a mission which has some sort of personal importance to each member of the group.
Perhaps the best execution of this method that I've had thus far was my Urban Campaign. Set in the slums of a sprawling fantasy metropolis, the six party members had already distinguished themselves individually as local heroes. Gathered together by the aging doctor who ran a free clinic for the people of the district, they were asked to work as a team, cleaning up the streets of their hometown by taking the fight to the mobs and street-gangs who threatened it. They were given a home in the district to use as a base of operations, and could turn to the hospital for aid if necessary.
In the early stages of the game, they were given mission packets, detailing news and rumors of suspicious activity in the district, and were given the option to pursue any of perhaps three new leads every couple sessions. As a result, the PCs were able to make choices without going so far afield that I couldn't prep ahead of time, and could ignore missions they didn't feel like doing. Having the structured system also allowed them to focus on learning how to work together as a team, and to gain a knowledge of the setting. As they gathered new allies and learned where to go for information, supplies, etc. and randomly encountered new enemies, the need for the mission packets evaporated, and the PCs began finding their own missions, and following their own agenda.
I like to think of this approach not so much as "railroading" but simply putting the PCs on training wheels until they have a good feel for the game. Once they seem comfortable with the setting and each other, the training wheels come off and they begin telling their own stories.
Robert "All My Games Have a Learning Curve" Ranting
Perhaps the best execution of this method that I've had thus far was my Urban Campaign. Set in the slums of a sprawling fantasy metropolis, the six party members had already distinguished themselves individually as local heroes. Gathered together by the aging doctor who ran a free clinic for the people of the district, they were asked to work as a team, cleaning up the streets of their hometown by taking the fight to the mobs and street-gangs who threatened it. They were given a home in the district to use as a base of operations, and could turn to the hospital for aid if necessary.
In the early stages of the game, they were given mission packets, detailing news and rumors of suspicious activity in the district, and were given the option to pursue any of perhaps three new leads every couple sessions. As a result, the PCs were able to make choices without going so far afield that I couldn't prep ahead of time, and could ignore missions they didn't feel like doing. Having the structured system also allowed them to focus on learning how to work together as a team, and to gain a knowledge of the setting. As they gathered new allies and learned where to go for information, supplies, etc. and randomly encountered new enemies, the need for the mission packets evaporated, and the PCs began finding their own missions, and following their own agenda.
I like to think of this approach not so much as "railroading" but simply putting the PCs on training wheels until they have a good feel for the game. Once they seem comfortable with the setting and each other, the training wheels come off and they begin telling their own stories.
Robert "All My Games Have a Learning Curve" Ranting
Dragonhelm
Knight of Solamnia
You know, it'd be funny if the characters were supposed to meet at the inn, only to find that it burned down the night before. Then the adventure revolves around discovering who burned the inn down.
Okay, back to topic...
Okay, back to topic...
cougent
First Post
I have used a few different hooks to get things started.
I polled one group of all new players and just asked how they wanted to play, they were mostly hack and slash and wanted to be powerful and rich, so I just made them a group of mercenaries for hire. They answered an open call for mercenaries and were picked by a Duke to do a task, which of course led to others and got convoluted and so on, but by then they had coalesced into a group.
Another time I had all the players write not a backstory, but a one paragraph traumatic event in their life that made them decide to become a ... (fighter, wizard, cleric, whatever) I then took all those traumatic events and by just slightly changing them to have a common BBEG in them (either directly or pulling the strings of the actual protaganist) to give them a common enemy to go after. This actually worked extremely well because it was thier own stories with just a slight twist that made them all want to work together to get this guy and kill him 20 times over.
And I have also used having them all be "graduates" of an academy that teaches all the arts and sent them out on their first mission as a graduation exercise. They return after completing it to find the academy destroyed and get clues as to the destruction that they can then pursue. Probably my fault for lack of depth, but this did not unify the group as much as I had hoped.
I rate these as medium, good and not so good, TIFWIW.
I polled one group of all new players and just asked how they wanted to play, they were mostly hack and slash and wanted to be powerful and rich, so I just made them a group of mercenaries for hire. They answered an open call for mercenaries and were picked by a Duke to do a task, which of course led to others and got convoluted and so on, but by then they had coalesced into a group.
Another time I had all the players write not a backstory, but a one paragraph traumatic event in their life that made them decide to become a ... (fighter, wizard, cleric, whatever) I then took all those traumatic events and by just slightly changing them to have a common BBEG in them (either directly or pulling the strings of the actual protaganist) to give them a common enemy to go after. This actually worked extremely well because it was thier own stories with just a slight twist that made them all want to work together to get this guy and kill him 20 times over.
And I have also used having them all be "graduates" of an academy that teaches all the arts and sent them out on their first mission as a graduation exercise. They return after completing it to find the academy destroyed and get clues as to the destruction that they can then pursue. Probably my fault for lack of depth, but this did not unify the group as much as I had hoped.
I rate these as medium, good and not so good, TIFWIW.
I haven't tried the academy one. Perfect for the right group.
Mission packets would work well for an inexperienced group especially. I had a group put together 15-16 yr old 1st level Rogues all part of the same gang and they knew their first mission would be to break and enter to make off with a specific item hidden in a house. I let them get together and create their characters as a group (I'll be the second story guy, you be the sneaky lockpick and you be the bluffer). The characters all grew up together on the streets and had adult gang members (think Fagan from Oliver Twist) around. That first mission opened up a string of urban adventures. Worked well but they were an experienced group.
rolling initiative In Media Res has worked for me too. Had one once where I narrated one of them about to be hanged and described the other three hidden about watching the scene, waiting for the moment. When I told them to roll initiative they all had d20s in hand and jumped in with gusto.
Love the burned down inn. Funny stuff.
I normally assign 'homework' for the players regarding their characters. Backstory before the first session. I usually have a few 'what would you do' scenarios to help them finalize their alignment. Make them draw their childhood home, Write up a 15th level vision of themselves, where would that 15th level version live, create the perfect feat, things like that so once things get going, by 2nd or 3rd level, they have (and I have) a clear idea about the characters. It's just the first one that's hard.
Loving the input, please keep'em coming.
Mission packets would work well for an inexperienced group especially. I had a group put together 15-16 yr old 1st level Rogues all part of the same gang and they knew their first mission would be to break and enter to make off with a specific item hidden in a house. I let them get together and create their characters as a group (I'll be the second story guy, you be the sneaky lockpick and you be the bluffer). The characters all grew up together on the streets and had adult gang members (think Fagan from Oliver Twist) around. That first mission opened up a string of urban adventures. Worked well but they were an experienced group.
rolling initiative In Media Res has worked for me too. Had one once where I narrated one of them about to be hanged and described the other three hidden about watching the scene, waiting for the moment. When I told them to roll initiative they all had d20s in hand and jumped in with gusto.
Love the burned down inn. Funny stuff.
I normally assign 'homework' for the players regarding their characters. Backstory before the first session. I usually have a few 'what would you do' scenarios to help them finalize their alignment. Make them draw their childhood home, Write up a 15th level vision of themselves, where would that 15th level version live, create the perfect feat, things like that so once things get going, by 2nd or 3rd level, they have (and I have) a clear idea about the characters. It's just the first one that's hard.
Loving the input, please keep'em coming.
you're all in a big pit of filth
I had the party kidnapped along with a bunch of other street urchins and sent to a slave camp together. They party members are the group that got together to do something about it. Fun little subplots (It's an Eberron campaign) might include whether the party members each had a reason to be there or not. That's up to them although at least two NPCs they met both had reason to be there that will become obvious over time.
I had the party kidnapped along with a bunch of other street urchins and sent to a slave camp together. They party members are the group that got together to do something about it. Fun little subplots (It's an Eberron campaign) might include whether the party members each had a reason to be there or not. That's up to them although at least two NPCs they met both had reason to be there that will become obvious over time.
Clueless
Webmonkey
I just started a Shadowrun game so I actually had to answer this one as of late. It varies on my goals for the game - if I'm looking at a fast short story arc, I'll put the PCs together by hook or by crook and start off somewhere fun. It seems the intro varies by the estimated length in the long run.
For example, a one shot or convention game, everyone walks in knowing what they're doing from the game intro. They've got a mission lined up already and they just start in media res. For example :
You all work for a company called ACME Inc. You aren't runners - you deliver items *for* runners. If they need a pair of rocket propelled rollerskates delivered out to I90 by tommorrow - you're on it. Which is good - cause guess what you're doing tomorrow morning...
Vs. a short campaign. I'll have some good excuse for them to all be together but the players won't know to start with. I try to guide character creation, or set up the game so it won't matter if they're all from different walks of life. I will have some challenge up front to get them all on the same road within one session though. For example:
You all wake up - you don't remember how you got here. You hear the echos of gunfire around you. You are dressed in a uniform you don't recognize and there's about 30 corpses on the ground in this room also dressed in the same uniform. You see six others in the same uniform in the room. No one else is wearing any other kind of uniform. Oh.... and all of you have a gun in your hand.
Result: John Woo at the table in under 5 seconds. Really amusing as they talked themselves down from killing each other. But they formed a 'where *are* we' style party in under five minutes.
Lastly, a long campaign. That one I take characters and try to note any characters too far out of line before the game. Loners make great movie characters - and *horrible* RP characters. I'd rather have Ocean's 11 than Punisher. Heck - I'll even take Reservoir Dogs over Punisher. Tweak contacts up front, interview players up front to make sure we're all wanting the same sort of game. Then... toss the characters up in the air and see where it lands. Since my players are all on the same page, my characters aren't automatically against each other and I've done my social engineering in advance... it'll fall into place like dominoes.
Usually I open with a 5 to 30 minute intro for each player held in private, it gives them a chance to stretch into the character and me some experience with the player/character without outside influence. That's their plot hook for getting into the game - I'm given to understand from one of my players this is unusual but incredibly effective.
Once they're all set on course - we start gaming all at the table and see where it goes. I tend to prefer teams for long games that form together in an organic/natural way - it lends towards stronger RP later on because there's a real reason for the characters to be together. For my current sort of players it lets them feel much more in control of the circumstances, and like they are the stars of the story.
My current Shadowrun game, the one just started - is on game 3 - the team hasn't formed yet, but is well on it's way to it. Players are having a *blast* (which is the point after all), and they've at least gotten to groups of two so far, last game ended with two PCs in the back trunks of two *other* PCs cars... I'm suspecting that another PC will soon be making the rounds to call and hire some runners (*cough* the other PCs will be at the top of that list most likely) to go steal some art back... so barring any player coming up with something truly unexpected - I'll have a formed run team within 2 game sessions.
Then I can start having the bad guy stalk them.
For example, a one shot or convention game, everyone walks in knowing what they're doing from the game intro. They've got a mission lined up already and they just start in media res. For example :
You all work for a company called ACME Inc. You aren't runners - you deliver items *for* runners. If they need a pair of rocket propelled rollerskates delivered out to I90 by tommorrow - you're on it. Which is good - cause guess what you're doing tomorrow morning...
Vs. a short campaign. I'll have some good excuse for them to all be together but the players won't know to start with. I try to guide character creation, or set up the game so it won't matter if they're all from different walks of life. I will have some challenge up front to get them all on the same road within one session though. For example:
You all wake up - you don't remember how you got here. You hear the echos of gunfire around you. You are dressed in a uniform you don't recognize and there's about 30 corpses on the ground in this room also dressed in the same uniform. You see six others in the same uniform in the room. No one else is wearing any other kind of uniform. Oh.... and all of you have a gun in your hand.
Result: John Woo at the table in under 5 seconds. Really amusing as they talked themselves down from killing each other. But they formed a 'where *are* we' style party in under five minutes.
Lastly, a long campaign. That one I take characters and try to note any characters too far out of line before the game. Loners make great movie characters - and *horrible* RP characters. I'd rather have Ocean's 11 than Punisher. Heck - I'll even take Reservoir Dogs over Punisher. Tweak contacts up front, interview players up front to make sure we're all wanting the same sort of game. Then... toss the characters up in the air and see where it lands. Since my players are all on the same page, my characters aren't automatically against each other and I've done my social engineering in advance... it'll fall into place like dominoes.
Usually I open with a 5 to 30 minute intro for each player held in private, it gives them a chance to stretch into the character and me some experience with the player/character without outside influence. That's their plot hook for getting into the game - I'm given to understand from one of my players this is unusual but incredibly effective.
Once they're all set on course - we start gaming all at the table and see where it goes. I tend to prefer teams for long games that form together in an organic/natural way - it lends towards stronger RP later on because there's a real reason for the characters to be together. For my current sort of players it lets them feel much more in control of the circumstances, and like they are the stars of the story.
My current Shadowrun game, the one just started - is on game 3 - the team hasn't formed yet, but is well on it's way to it. Players are having a *blast* (which is the point after all), and they've at least gotten to groups of two so far, last game ended with two PCs in the back trunks of two *other* PCs cars... I'm suspecting that another PC will soon be making the rounds to call and hire some runners (*cough* the other PCs will be at the top of that list most likely) to go steal some art back... so barring any player coming up with something truly unexpected - I'll have a formed run team within 2 game sessions.
Then I can start having the bad guy stalk them.
Last edited:
MoogleEmpMog
First Post
I'm a big supporter of group character generation; part of that process is deciding, out of game, how the party WILL get along and stick together, even if they don't start out that way.
I don't mind ALLEGEDLY "lone wolf" characters, for example; unlike a lot of rp'ers, I actually DO find that character type cool and interesting and like to have one along. But, OUT of game, that character's player has to agree from the outset that his character will stick with the party regardless of his apparent motive.
Once that's done, I usually begin the actual campaign in media res.
I don't mind ALLEGEDLY "lone wolf" characters, for example; unlike a lot of rp'ers, I actually DO find that character type cool and interesting and like to have one along. But, OUT of game, that character's player has to agree from the outset that his character will stick with the party regardless of his apparent motive.
Once that's done, I usually begin the actual campaign in media res.
HelloChristian
First Post
If the DM is going to take the time to craft adventures and to tailor world events, then I'm all for joint character creation. If the DM relies solely upon store-bought modules and flavor text, then it really doesn't matter what the party composition is. Heck, a character doesn't even need a name in some modules.
baradtgnome
First Post
I like it. Variations of that have great potential.Dragonhelm said:
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