Working on my game...

[Kefka]

I'm trying to figure out a way to have all the characters "meet" without it being like "You're sitting in an inn."

Also, are there any hints on making an adventure flow?


Thanks!

[Sellenus]

Are they regents? If not, what are their roles in society?

[Chaos Lord Arioch]

I''ve always wanted to introduce players into a campaign by having them involved in a situation
(eg. You and your scouts have finally caught up with the bandits that are plaguing the Province. You are hiding in the wood with two sections (16) of your horsemen. You watch as the bandits (23 of them) meander along the trail, oblivious to you and your men. You nod your head and your men level their crossbows.......)

I love ambushes.;)

[Strahd]

A not so common quest. One could be looking for an artifact, another for money, the 3rd for some info on the evil neighoring realm plans for the future. Put them into a really tough position, so that they have to trust each other! Or put the one against the other, but have one side having been mislead, so that the other players "enlighten" him.
One more thing: have them play 2-3 sessions on their own, each player separately. They will have a nice background before they meet, more fun and realistic this way.

[centAUr]

Orginally posted by Strahd

A not so common quest. One could be looking for an artifact, another for money, the 3rd for some info on the evil neighoring realm plans for the future. Put them into a really tough position, so that they have to trust each other! Or put the one against the other, but have one side having been mislead, so that the other players "enlighten" him.
One more thing: have them play 2-3 sessions on their own, each player separately. They will have a nice background before they meet, more fun and realistic this way.

You have to be careful though, as it is still not sure that the players will want to continue together, having as a result their separation after a while. It is quite difficult to put a magician/thief in the same party with a Vos Barbarian and make the stuck together, especially if at the 2-3 sessions they had played on their own, they had already developed some amistads with NPCs. It can result in having to keep on playing the players separated for a long time.
I still have to admit that these first sessions can be quite creative and have a lot of fun.

[Strahd]

Orginally posted by centAUr
You have to be careful though, as it is still not sure that the players will want to continue together, having as a result their separation after a while. It is quite difficult to put a magician/thief in the same party with a Vos Barbarian and make the stuck together, especially if at the 2-3 sessions they had played on their own, they had already developed some amistads with NPCs. It can result in having to keep on playing the players separated for a long time.
I still have to admit that these first sessions can be quite creative and have a lot of fun.
But it can be done :) I united an Ariyan Avanil priest, a Vos barbarian, a Rjurik female fighter and a Rjurik barbarian :) Unfortunately, the Brecht magician/thief left us, or he would be in.
I believe it is best this way, and the players react MUCH MORE realistically, especially if they aren't experienced roleplayers. Two elves now enter the campaign; I would hate the Rjurik and the Vos meet them and say "hi!", as they might do in a FR dungeon. They should say "CHARGE" :)

[Princess Emerald Greybear]

I had a DM one time start off with a letter stating that he longer existed as a person at the table and we were us sitting at the table and there was a mist at the door and we started the role playing there and had to walk through it, and when we did our clothes were different and all that jazz... it was pretty interesting, a break from the same old sitting at the inn scenario!

[Arlen Blaede]

The crucial part about getting different, and sometimes antagonistic,
PC's together is to give them a common thread/goal. This can definitely
take some work though. But remember, don't push them too hard. I've
had way too many PC's run in exactly the other direction just because
I made the bread crumb trail way too obvious. As it was mentioned
before, sometimes the easiest way to do this is to put the pc's into a
situation where they must help eachother in order to stay alive.
Nothing quite builds comraderie like having someone spill their blood
to protect you.