starting a campaign

[Bearcat]

At 23:05 24/10/97 +0800, you wrote:
>I am trying to come up with a new way to get the pc's introduced. I don't
>want to tell them that they know each other,have them go for the same
>job,have them escape from slave pens etc. Does anyone have any newish or
>novel ways of starting a d&d campaign?

This is birthright, have them meet each other at a diplomatic
function. Perhaps after that make some terrorist types trash the place and
force them to work together.
Bearcat
lcgm@elogica.com.br
Come visit Bearcat's Birthright Homepage at:
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Cavern/6204

[Paul]

I am trying to come up with a new way to get the pc's introduced. I don't
want to tell them that they know each other,have them go for the same
job,have them escape from slave pens etc. Does anyone have any newish or
novel ways of starting a d&d campaign?

Paul

[abeard@zebra.net (Adam B]

Paul wrote:
>
> I am trying to come up with a new way to get the pc's introduced. I don't
> want to tell them that they know each other,have them go for the same
> job,have them escape from slave pens etc. Does anyone have any newish or
> novel ways of starting a d&d campaign?
>
> Paul
>
> ************************************************** *************************
> > 'unsubscribe birthright' as the body of the message.
Give one of them a job to kill the others. They will soon meet.

Adam Beard

[fhilbrandt]

I have usually written an adventure that bring the PCs together from
wherever. A recurring NPC helps here.

For example, in my BR campaign, I had some of the PCs coming from Dhoesone
(sp) into Aerenwe because the queen is said to be a former adventurer and
the PCs backstory lent itself to some of them being the children of her
former party. The other characters were picked up along the way, or when
they arrived in Aerenwe.

Another way that has worked in the past has been the NPC, usually a retired
adventurer now running a tavern, that acts as a "party broker" - putting
the PCs together with there first job.

Above all, try to make this first meeting/strategy session an interesting
role-playing situation. It will get the players into your world and give
you as DM some insight into the party's mindset. As DM, you've got to be
able to use the party's "feel" to see where to go next (and it never hurts
to have stuff to use against the PCs)

Fred Hilbrandt

- ----------
> From: Paul
> To: birthright@MPGN.COM
> Subject: [BIRTHRIGHT] - starting a campaign
> Date: Friday, October 24, 1997 11:05
>
> I am trying to come up with a new way to get the pc's introduced. I don't
> want to tell them that they know each other,have them go for the same
> job,have them escape from slave pens etc. Does anyone have any newish or
> novel ways of starting a d&d campaign?
>
> Paul

[Lee]

I started a game once in which the PCs were all university students, in the
same boarding house (except one, who was the renter- a cover for his forging
activities), when another boarder asked them to help him load some stuff into
the basement at dinner one night. Some recognized it as gunpowder, and
speculated about a plot to the others. . . . (This was a "Mighty Fortress"
game, so the powder was legit.)

Lee.

[Neil Barnes]

On Fri, 24 Oct 1997, Paul wrote:

> I am trying to come up with a new way to get the pc's introduced. I don't
> want to tell them that they know each other,have them go for the same
> job,have them escape from slave pens etc. Does anyone have any newish or
> novel ways of starting a d&d campaign?

Have the players all be siblings (if human) or

[Bryan Ruther]

Golem B wrote:

> You wrote:
>
> < I am trying to come up with a new way to get the pc's introduced. I don't
> < want to tell them that they know each other,have them go for the same
> < job,have them escape from slave pens etc. Does anyone have any newish or
> < novel ways of starting a d&d campaign?

Although it doesn't work as well in BR with regent PCs, one excellent way tobegin
a campaign is solo (or near solo) adventures. Every character gets a mini
adventure BEFORE the start of the main campaign. This allows the player to
develop the characters personality, gives the game a feel for events of the past
as opposed to the characters stepping out of the void and starting to adventure
together.

Bryan


- --
Mankind being originally equals in the order of creation,
the equality could only be destroyed by some subsequent
circumstance...
Thomas Paine, Common Sense

[FRANKEN*RC]

> Golem B wrote:
>
> > You wrote:
> >
> > < I am trying to come up with a new way to get the pc's introduced. I don't
> > < want to tell them that they know each other,have them go for the same
> > < job,have them escape from slave pens etc. Does anyone have any newish or
> > < novel ways of starting a d&d campaign?
>
> Although it doesn't work as well in BR with regent PCs, one excellent way tobegin
> a campaign is solo (or near solo) adventures. Every character gets a mini
> adventure BEFORE the start of the main campaign. This allows the player to
> develop the characters personality, gives the game a feel for events of the past
> as opposed to the characters stepping out of the void and starting to adventure
> together.

I use this technic too, eventually they'll start diplomacy with their
neighbors or close neighbors and (surprise surprise) those are
players too. (My players did know there were other players but they
didn't know which countries or holdings they commanded). you
can get very nice results, 2 players were working against eachother
almost igniting a big war, when they finally discovered during their
first diplomacy that the other was a player, but then they couldn't
back off without loosing face. They fought a small war and then made
peace. :)

Ronald

[Brian Stoner]

I started off my most recent campaign with a short adventure in the
Imperial City. During the first domain turn each PC received an
invitation from a noble in the city that serves the Imperial Chamberlain
by researching the various regents of Anuire (part of the Chamberlain's
search for a suitable Emperor). This gave the new regents (PCs) the
chance to meet, do some minor diplomacy, and it gave me a chance to ask
them questions regarding their style of rule (none of them will make
good Emperors..heh). I also stuck in a small first level adventure in
which the noble's daughter was kidnapped... Overall, the whole thing
was a success.

Brian

FRANKEN*RC wrote:

> > Golem B wrote:
> >
> > > You wrote:
> > >
> > > < I am trying to come up with a new way to get the pc's
> introduced. I don't
> > > < want to tell them that they know each other,have them go for the
> same
> > > < job,have them escape from slave pens etc. Does anyone have any
> newish or
> > > < novel ways of starting a d&d campaign?
> >
> > Although it doesn't work as well in BR with regent PCs, one
> excellent way tobegin
> > a campaign is solo (or near solo) adventures. Every character gets
> a mini
> > adventure BEFORE the start of the main campaign. This allows the
> player to
> > develop the characters personality, gives the game a feel for events
> of the past
> > as opposed to the characters stepping out of the void and starting
> to adventure
> > together.
>
> I use this technic too, eventually they'll start diplomacy with their
> neighbors or close neighbors and (surprise surprise) those are
> players too. (My players did know there were other players but they
> didn't know which countries or holdings they commanded). you
> can get very nice results, 2 players were working against eachother
> almost igniting a big war, when they finally discovered during their
> first diplomacy that the other was a player, but then they couldn't
> back off without loosing face. They fought a small war and then made
> peace. :)
>
> Ronald