Subject: Roleplaying Tips Weekly Supplemental #16: First Session Tips


***You have received this document because my autoresponder
system processed a request with your email in the Reply To
field. This is a plain text document with no attachments. If
you have received this document in error, report abuse to
johnn@roleplayingtips.com. Please note that I cannot help in
the cases of spoofed, relayed, ghosted, or forged emails.***


Thank you for requesting:

Roleplaying Tips Weekly Supplemental #16
"Tips For Planning & Running The First Session Of A
Campaign"

This file was created because of the wonderful response to
issue #185's Tip Request about a GM's plea for help with
planning and running the first session of a new campaign.

Thanks to everyone who emailed me their tips, stories, and
advice. New tips for this doc are always welcome.


Cheers,

Johnn Four
johnn@roleplayingtips.com
http://www.roleplayingtips.com


@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@


From: Ben R.

Hi Johnn,

There's nothing harder than engaging all of the players in a
new campaign without being really obvious or clumsy. i.e.
"You're all answering an ad for adventurers!"

Why not give the players no choice but to get into the
campaign? I'm playing in a game at the moment where the GM
forced us to get into the campaign and it's never been
easier to get straight into it and do some great character
roleplaying. He had us all captured by undead forces,
inflicted with mummy rot, and then forced to do the bidding
of an evil necromancer in order to get the cure.

Other ideas for hooking new characters might be:

1. Maybe the country they're in is having a purge of
foreigners/heretics/unemployed/adventurers/whatever and they
all get swept up from wherever they are (they don't even
have to be in the same town) and held in a detention centre.
Then they have to band together and fight their way out
before they are killed/sold as slaves/dumped in the
desert/led to some unsavoury fate.

2. A flood/forest fire/hurricane/any natural disaster forces
the whole community to band together. Then you give them a
goal to survive or to take advantage of the situation.

3. The country could be invaded by a hostile force or there
could be a revolution and the players get swept up in the
consequences. i.e. Local King employs them as spies, they
get drafted by either side, invading general kills all their
families, or the mayhem gives opportunity for looting or
profiteering.

4. Any scenario your crafty mind can dream up where the
players are coerced, bullied, blackmailed, incited to
avenge, or forced to defend their lives.

Once players are used to working together, 99 times out a
100, it will be natural for them to stay together once their
objective is reached.

Hope this helps!

@@@@@@

From: Mike H.

I almost always start off a campaign with a small adventure.
I use it to bring the team in contact with each other and a
reason for them to be on a team.

For example, 4 strangers hired to protect a wagon load of
shovels is a favorite of mine. When the bandits attack they
open the wagon to see if there's anything of use.

I get a chance to lay out the feel and nature of the area
and some of the goings on. Often, the major world changing
events that springboard them into a life of adventure are
happening just over the hill. The PCs hear the fight and
when they peak over the summit they see their town being
slaughtered or are accused of scouting for the barbarians or
whatever I am using to propel them into adventure.

@@@@@@

From: Otto Cargill

Starting a campaign can often be more difficult than
continuing an already established one. This much is obvious
since once a campaign is started and characters are formed
it is easier to create adventures based on previous events.
To help, here are some of the methods I use based on my
Weird Wars: Blood on the Rhine campaign set late in World
War II.

1) Find An Event
Whether your campaign is fantasy, historical, sci-fi, or
horror, there is always some event in that world's history
that you can get your characters involved with. My own
campaign started June 6th, 1944 with the characters arriving
on the beaches of Normandy. Setting your first adventure
around major events gives the opportunity for high energy
and exciting intros. Picture your characters helping to shut
down the energy shields on Endor or assaulting Isengard and
you immediately have setting and motivation.

2) Make It Different
While everyone knows what happens at D-Day, Endor, and
Isengard, the events may be different from an individual
aspect or because of a different set of circumstances. With
my beach landing, the characters experienced the terror of
approach, the shock of artillery, and the beaching of their
craft. All happened during the true events. However, upon
reaching the beach, the PCs found less resistance than the
players and the PCs expected. As anyone who's seen Saving
Private Ryan can attest to, a quiet beach with few guards on
D-Day is unusual to say the least.

3) Leave A Mystery
So you have your players expecting one set of events based
on their knowledge of the history or storyline and you have
just thrown them a curveball. They may have passed the
initial trial by fire but you can't give them the entire
ball of wax. For example, my soldiers storm the beaches,
take out a machine gun nest and begin investigating the
strangely quiet trenches along the area. Behind the scenes,
an SS Blood Mage has already vaporized the information and
evidence in the German command center as well as witnesses
who were too low ranking to know as much as they saw. When
the players reach the scene all they find are scorch marks,
burned corpses, and strange runic marks. This gives them a
little scare, some information about the villain, and
hopefully sparks enough curiosity that they come back next
week for the second adventure.

Be creative and exciting in what you do. Your first
adventure can set the tone for your entire campaign and
establish most of your initial adventures as well.

@@@@@@

From: Jonah A.

Have the players start out in a common but undesirable
predicament. For example, captured by an enemy such as a
band of orcs or slavers. This method works well as it does
not require characters to share any background (but does not
prohibit it either), gives them a reason for being together,
and gives them a common goal that requires them to work
together. Additionally, it inherently makes characters
curious about each other, at least in the sense that it
becomes essential to know if the others are skilled at
anything, if they are trustworthy, etc.

One of the best beginnings to a campaign I have played in
was a Star Wars game. All the players found themselves the
prisoners on a Bothan slave ship. An imperial patrol ship
hailed them and was preparing to board when the Bothan slave
traders fled. After the imperials destroyed their escape
vessel, the imperial patrol ship withdrew. We assumed that a
tow ship would be arriving shortly. The DM then asked what
we wanted to do.

@@@@@@

From: Maciej G.

How about this idea? Every one of the PCs was convicted and
sentenced in recent weeks before the beginning of the
campaign). Doesn't matter what they have done or whether
they have been falsely accused. Optionally, you can play the
prelude session with particular players where they would
commit (conscious or not) a crime.

The campaign starts with the PCs in the same cell with the
same objective: to survive prison or to escape.

There is a harder (more interesting) option. Imagine that
someone has bought the PCs as oarmen for his galley. After a
few days of an extremely hard voyage something breaks the
ship apart and it starts sinking. The PCs are attached to
the same oar and now they have to start cooperating. A new
campaign has begun...

@@@@@@

From: Nathan P.

Hey Johnn

Here are a couple things I try to do for the first session
of a new game (with examples from the most recent game I
ran):

Get a basic idea for the story you want to tell, whether it
be just for that session or for the longer term (I wanted to
introduce the characters to the game world, let them get
their bearings, then dive right into the mysterious attacks
on their allies temples).

Go through character generation. Get a handle on your
players' characters, what they are good at and what they
won't be able to do. Talk to the players about their
characters. (Neither of the characters were very combat-
oriented, but one of them was smart while the other was
charismatic and talkative. I noted to keep combat in the
game down, but have lots of puzzles and NPC interaction.)

I think a good first session is a "meeting session" where
the characters meet each other and discover reasons to work
together. This leaves most of the work to your players!
(Part of one character's backstory was that he was kind of a
scout for a temple and the place he was scouting happened to
be the place where the other character had been captured and
taken.)

Once the characters have met and found common ground, you
can take the story any number of places. Often, they will
come up with some way to go that you may not have thought of
but can run with.

I hope that helps!

@@@@@@

From: Will V.

Johnn,

The way I normally tackle this problem is to hold the first
session for the purpose of creating characters and
explaining the setting, if the players aren't familiar with
it. This allows me to oversee the creation of the characters
and I can get a feel for the kind players I'll be working
with in my game.

I always insist that the players have some sort of
background and I normally ask that every character leave
something or two open-ended to give me something to work
with in the future.

Examples would be an old mentor that a particular character
hasn't seen in a while, or a character who possesses a
certain item she received during a tearful goodbye with a
lover. Here would the time to come up with an Archenemy,
etc. By the time 3 or 4 hours have gone bye you'll find that
you have a wealth of information to work with.

From here I work out the first session, carefully fitting
the characters into my overall story idea. My first sessions
normally include getting all the players introduced (in
character) and some kind of small conflict that relates to
my overall idea. After a few more sessions the characters
will figure out what that first conflict has to do with the
big conflict.

I like to split my games up into "Chapters" and "Sections".
Normally, a "Section" will last one to three sessions while
a "Chapter" will last up of three or four "Sections". I also
like to give every Chapter and Section a name. It helps me
stay focused on what I want to happen short term (Section)
and long term (Chapter).

My first session normally has two focuses, the long term and
the short term. I like to think of the whole process as
putting together a puzzle with some pieces belonging to me
and the other pieces belonging to the characters.

While writing this I came to a new realization that might
also help. While going back and proofing this, I found that
it was difficult for me to talk about that first session
with out talking about the future of the game. Like most
things, the idea that you have to have a good foundation
also seems to apply here.

In conclusion to my newly found realization: You HAVE to
consider the future of the game if your first session is
going to be that "good foundation."

@@@@@@

From: Jen D.

This is in response to the reader who asked the question
about starting the first adventure of a new group.

I have several ideas that I've used in the past; some of
them I've undoubtably gotten from your newsletter so if I
repeat something that's been published I'm not intentionally
plagiarizing you =).

1. Who says the characters don't have to know each other?
Maybe 1 or 2 or even all of the group grew up together or
met through some other circumstance earlier on.

2. Start "in media res" (in the middle of things). Have the
group be part of a caravan travelling from one place to
another and then have goblins attack the caravan. Nothing
like a little bloodshed to promote bonding and friendship =).

3. Let everyone have a common employer. Maybe the party has
been recruited into the local militia for various 'crimes'
or just for pay or something. Maybe some wealthy mage hires
some people to go and gather some spell components for him,
or an adventuring group is holding auditions or looking for
new recruits.

4. Sometimes just throwing everyone into the same city and
letting them do what their character would do is a good way
for the group to meet. Maybe the thief will automatically be
drawn to the big fighter in his new armor and think he's an
easy mark. Or that fighter will listen to the bard in the
tavern and feel compelled to rescue her when a drunk patron
keeps pawing her. I always like it when the characters meet
by acting out their characters/doing something rather than
just the usual, "Randar is a fighter dressed in a green
tunic that barely hides his chain shirt, he's 6 ft, brown
hair, blah blah blah".

5. Center on one character. Maybe one of your group members
has just gone above and beyond in their character
background/concept--it's just full of ideas for you to jump
on. Well, Jump! Have the first adventure focus on them and
their background, drawing the other characters to this one.
Maybe it's just a case of being in the wrong place at the
wrong time or that character just implores the party for
help (it brings an extra level of depth if the person doing
the imploring is a PC as opposed to an NPC).

Work with your players and their characters. If you run into
someone who just keeps going "My character wouldn't be
here...wouldn't do that...wouldn't be with these people.."
try to work with them but if they refuse to budge, then
simply say, "roll up a new character, one who WOULD want to
fit in." You don't want to kowtow someone but they have to
learn to compromise as well.

@@@@@@

From: Erik J.

Hi Johnn!

Sam P. wonders at how the best GMs launch a campaign. I'm
sure many answers will be rolling in, but here are my two
cents' worth:

First of all, apply the KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid)
principle. When you first begin Game Mastering you should
limit the scope of the first adventure, and you should ask
the co-operation of your players in doing so. In other
words, have them make characters that do not require too
much work for you. The more complex, the greater amount of
data you generate, the greater the room to err.

The characters should be geared more or less towards the
same end. The best game sessions have a mix of intrigue,
action, puzzle-solving, roleplaying, etc. that fits the
wishes of your group. To begin with, however, it's better to
use as few of these as possible in one session, until you
become comfortable with each. In my experience, combat is
easiest to GM. Anyone can throw another bunch of storm
troopers or bugbears into the party's way. Since you're just
starting, your first session should probably involve more
action than your average session will contain. Warn the
players, though, so that anyone making an Hercule Poirot-
inspired rogue has time to reconsider the character as more
hard hitting.

@@@@@@

From: RossK

One of my co-GMs has a first principle for first sessions in
a new game: start things in media res.

For example, in a sci-fi game, the scene starts with the
ship's warp core going critical; or the unknown alien vessel
is firing; or the PCs realise the bomb they just found is
set to go off in 5 minutes.

In a fantasy game, it can be trickier. But the goal is to
get the characters and players working together *now* rather
than when the "dark stranger" walks into the inn and asks
them to do a job.

It could even go like this: the PCs are in a tavern enjoying
breakfast. A couple in a booth then stand up and start
shouting, waving crossbows/blasters:

"Everybody be cool, this is a robbery!"

"Any of you fobbing plebs move and I'll execute every last
monster fobbing one of you!"

...and queue the opening credits (apologies to Mr.
Tarantino).

@@@@@@

From: Brian W. M.

Starting the First Session of a Campaign

When planning a new campaign I think in terms of overall
campaign feel. Then I think in terms of getting the campaign
moving. How am I going to gather my PCs together? What is
the hook that will put the PCs on the adventurous path? What
will keep the group glued together. Now if you are starting
a campaign hopefully you have floating in the back of your
head ideas for major story arcs in the campaign. Use these
arcs and themes as inspiration for your campaign startup.

I also feel you need to introduce the players to the
campaign villain. Even if they don't know this NPC is the
Villain it's just good story etiquette to at least introduce
him (even if it is as a friend or mentor or thru one of the
villains lackeys). If not the campaign villain at least the
first major level boss they will encounter (something more
than the bad guy at the end of the first adventure). This
article assumes that you have an adventure that you want to
get the players into.

The Gathering
-------------
The key to the gathering is veteran players and any players
that have GM'd before. They should know the position you are
in and will help pull the group together. Your players will
buy into whatever fabrication you create to all be together-
-any reason will do. Use one and move on to the hook. The
gathering will strain the suspension of disbelief to its
limit, which is why you don't linger waiting for PC
interaction at this point. This is all OK, your players will
remember the hook, not the reason for the Gathering

Some Background Ideas:
* Pair or team up characters likely to be together. This
  increases plausibility.
  - Same race
  - Similar profession
  - Often seen grouped
  - A cop and a criminal (in custody)

* Require players to provide reasons why they are in
  whatever starting location (city, town, prison) the
  gathering is being held within; although, the burden of why
  they attended the gathering is still on you.

* Coincidence. Have them at the right place at the wrong
  time.
  - Thrown in the same jail
  - Owing the same guy a favor
  - Sitting in the same bar
  - Stopped in different cars at the same red light

The Hook
--------
Any outside force acting on the gathered players as a group.
Combat recommended--if not combat some kind of conflict
targeting or involving the group as a whole.

Some Ideas:
* An Ambush.
  - On players
  - Between 2 other parties with PCs caught in the crossfire

* A cry for help (legitimate or as part of an ambush). Have
  faith in your players to all respond. Another twist is to
  have a legitimate cry for help from a bad guy.

* A pronouncement from on high (loss of free will).
  - A sentence (like exile)
  - A request or demand for aid. "Rescue my daughter."
    ("Please" optional.)

* Powerful NPC putting a group together to perform X task
  (again loss of free will) and incorporates the Gathering.
  - A newspaper to research articles
  - A King to spy on neighbors
  - A deep cover spy to report back information
  - A new unit in a mercenary group
  - A dilettante to mount an expedition
  - A college to research anything
  - A guild to acquire any rare item
  - The FBI to consult on x-files

The Glue
--------
A reason for the group to stay together after the Hook.
Sometimes provided for in the hook.

Some Ideas:
* Loot that leads to actual adventure or side quests.

Example sources:
- From a dead body (party must find a place of safety to
  split up)
- Group acquires and then loses (or its taken) something
  important (adventure becomes one of reacquisition)

Example types:
- A written document the players can't read on the spot
  (foreign language, code)
- A chest or box they can't open on the spot (and can be
  taken by Villain's faction before they open it)
- A magical or significant item that points towards
  adventure

* Betrayal. An NPC ally, protector, or mentor used in the
  gathering now screws the PCs and gets away. The adventure
  becomes one of pursuit.

* Ally. An NPC the party saved (from death usually) turns out
  to be a potential patron, mentor, ally, or just someone with
  a plot lead into the actual adventure.
  - Cry for further assistance (reward optional)
    o "You are so brave you must rescue my..."
    o "You are so noble and of such good character I can only
      trust you to..."
  - Reward
    o "Seeing as you saved my life all I can offer you in return
      is this map showing the location of..."

Conclusion
-----------
In many cases, it will be easier to start with a close look
at the hints the party needs as seeds to the first
adventure, and then backwards engineer how to plant the
seeds of that adventure and your campaign within the
framework of The Gathering, The Hook, and The Glue.

In the aftermath of these initial encounters, the characters
will start to interact as they now have common experience
binding them and serving as an icebreaker. I usually do not
even bother with asking players to describe their characters
to each other until this process is complete. I have also
found that the players will define much of their characters
personality during this initial campaign setup period and
diving right in gives them time to formulate ideas in their
own minds about their characters before committing to
openly. Separating the campaign startup into these three
concepts really helped me launch my games with faster
immersion and better character development; hopefully they
will help you as well.

@@@@@@

From: Morgan

Johnn,

Here's a few ideas for what to do on a first adventure.

First of all, have at the very least a basic idea of the
backstory for your plot. It helps quite a bit if you can do
a little foreshadowing of things to come, or have some hints
dropped here and there. There was a very good article on
prophecy a few issues ago, if I recall correctly. If you
have your backstory plotted out, it's not difficult to drop
some prophetic hints out there to help "reel them in."

Second, another item of pre-game preparation. Work with the
players on the backgrounds for their characters. Try to get
their backgrounds involved with the world. Bear in mind that
the player or the character doesn't necessarily have to know
the details of what you come up with. For example, a
character could be a farmboy from a backwater planet, but
the GM decides he has a history that will play a major part
in the upcoming war against the evil empire. Once you have a
handle on character backgrounds and such, it's easier to
give them bits and pieces of info, roleplay, and the odd
prop to help get them feeling involved.

Third, reducing the fumble factor is even more important,
IMHO, for that first game. You want to have your notes
prepared and easily accessible, any props ready to hand,
encounters prepared, and contingency plans for when those
pesky players decide to go down the EAST branch of that road
instead of west... The first game, more than any other,
should go smoothly. Think of it as your "first impression,"
so to speak. Even if you have played with your group for
quite some time, and this is the third campaign you've run,
it's still the first impression for that campaign.

Fourth, during game play, watch for opportunities to help
the players get into character. If you have a character with
a predilection for helping the downtrodden, give him a few
downtrodden to help out. If you wish, they may even come
back in future episodes. Perhaps that old beggar the paladin
helped out of the way of a rushing wagon comes into
possession of information the paladin would find useful
later. Take copious notes of odd events and such.

Fifth, more notes. The players go to a tavern to talk. You
didn't prepare extensively for that contingency so you use
your favorite method to craft a fine tavern from scratch
(more on this later). Take notes of your creation. Jot down
the name of the place, the name of the barkeep, perhaps a
bit of description. You never know, if your players stay in
that town for a while, it may become their regular watering
hole!

Finally, a note on on-the-spot creation. We've all had to do
it. Tavern names, NPC names, etc. I recommend three things.
First of all, a good naming book. There are authors' tools
that are specifically designed to help with character
naming. Baby name books are a moderately good source and
economical.

Second, I highly recommend AEG's "Toolbox" book (SKU #8514).
A plethora of charts, tables and other randomness. A few
dice, and some jotted notes, and voila, the contents of a
library.

Third, another product I recommend highly, and, with a
modicum of effort, usable with the two aforementioned items.
If you have a computer handy at your gaming table, the
Tablesmith program is excellent.
(http://www.mythosa.net/Utils.html)

It is easily programmed with custom tables after a small
amount of study and a fair amount of typing work. Tables
exist already for a variety of things, and can be downloaded
from the Table Gallery link on the site.

Hope these help out.

@@@@@@

From: Rodrigo C

Hi, I'm from Mexico city and have been a Game Master for
about 8 years. The games I have directed so far are Star
Wars (West End version, my favorite), Vampire the
Masquerade, Sabbat, Mage the Ascension and the Technocracy.
I've been asked to direct games on strange occasions and
many times I have started short chronicles just for the fun
of it, or to show "normal" people what RPGs are all about.

So, many times I have faced the "first adventure" situation.
I have some tips here.

1) Make the simplest characters first. If you are a new Game
master, or your players are new and naive, don't start
playing with complex, multiclass, alien or strange
characters. Use the simplest templates first so everyone
will know what to expect in terms of roleplaying. This will
make a rich, simple, and funny chronicle without the kind of
conflicts strange characters tend to generate. Later on,
everyone will look for the complex characters and maybe that
will be the source of fun, but that's not for the first
session.

2) Use the cliches that work for the particular setting.
Picture the first thing that comes to your mind with the
title of the game. This encourages you and your players to
give their best and have fun. For example, in Dungeons and
Dragons, you should at least use a Dungeon as a part of the
first adventure. In Star Wars I always use the same pattern
of adventure for the first (and many times only) session. In
Vampire games I always play the "feeding" part for the first
session (it's always fun to watch new born vampires trying
to feed from humans without breaking the masquerade, they
always fail and some storytellers NEVER make their players
play this seriously).

3) Pick a starring character for the first chronicle and
"make" everything fit into their story with the other
characters. The "favorite character" should be just the one
that you are more drawn to, because you are human after all,
and you have your tastes and preferences. It's easier to
make a natural story about a character you like already.
RPGs are very subjective (rules are a tool, they should not
bind you right?). It doesn't hurt to have a favorite
character the first time, and gives you a leading vector in
the first session.

Most action pictures use this principle. There is a leading
character whose story we follow and one by one the rest of
characters start to join the chronicle. Use as example the
Final Fantasy Games, or the first movie of X-Men, where you
start with two characters who already know each other or who
make acquaintances in the first battle and then start to
know the rest of allies as they make new opponents. Good
mechanics, I guarantee. Also, I recommend to pick the
character with the most "social" attitude, like a leader, a
commander, an artist, etc.

4) "In media res". That's Latin for "In the middle of
action". It's used in all the Star Wars movies and can be
extrapolated to every action oriented game. The very first
scene of an adventure should involve a combat already
occurring, with you detailing the opposing combatants as the
action is unfolding. In this particular situation, the
characters start to know each other as they get involved in
the crossfire as allies, enemies, innocent bystanders,
treacherous sentries, spies, etc. Using this technique will
pump adrenaline in your players and lead them to the end of
your first session with excitement. I highly recommend this
technique. Even people that don't know me know that my
chronicles tend to start with me yelling to the player to
dodge an attack before explaining anything. Always make
sure, though, that the opposition will be defeated, pick few
opponents, with low skills in a certain disadvantage with a
sure escape.

5) Keep the goal of the first session simple. As simple as
it gets. This first goal will be different for every kind of
setting you use. For example, in a Dungeons and Dragons
setting it could be getting an artifact like a magical
compass, a key, or a map. In Star Wars, making a simple
Imperial post blown up, capturing a spy, scaping from a
planet, contact a Rebel alliance operative to join. In
Vampire, getting your food for the night and not get
destroyed in the process (quite more difficult than it
seems, believe me), getting acquainted to the Keeper of the
Elysium and convince him of giving you the appropriate date
to present to the Prince. If you are a Sabbat, locating a
Safe Haven.

I wish you luck and fun in every new game you play. All
these tips are proven with new and old players, and with
many different settings. I hope they work for you too.


@@@@@@

From: Michelle T.

I run a 7th Sea campaign in Tucson/Phoenix and on the first
adventure (taking over someone else's campaign), I gave them
an errand to simply get them from Freiburg, Eisen, to
Carleon, Avalon. That's it. Just to get them there.

Not five minutes after they arrived, I said, "So what are
you guys doing now that you're here?" One of my players went
off to the Explorers' Society headquarters to see what was
going on. After giving him a nice description of the place
(stuff they had, maps, who's there and doing what), I handed
him a posted notice of "Recent and Dramatic Events
Pertaining to the Explorers' Society of Theah" with about
ten different things (the doings of the Inquisitions, latest
Explorer digs, etc). Next thing I knew, he went running back
to the other players to tell them and they started chasing
down the ones they thought were interesting. I didn't even
have to suggest it.

@@@@@@

From: Cris Jolliff

Beginning a Campaign

Possibly the second-hardest part of campaign creation or
maintenance is the beginning. (The hardest, for me, is
always the endings. I fear constantly that I will have an
anticlimactic ending...but maybe that's just me.)

As with every other part of your campaign, the beginning
requires the use of your imagination. Don't create a
magnificent world, commit it to paper, and then bore
everyone to tears with the tired old "you meet in a bar and
a bar fight breaks out" introduction. Even the Dungeons &
Dragons movie tried that one when they picked up the dwarf.
It couldn't have been more sloppily contrived and many
viewers hated that film (though not just for *that* scene).

If the adventure is to be a series of more or less unrelated
adventures, make the tales into a story of travel, like
those of Sinbad. Journey tales commonly begin with the
characters on the "road" already. If they are strangers,
have them meet through interaction and role-playing in a
wagon, on horseback, in a caravan, on a ship, and so on.

Once they have established a friendly relationship,
introduce the conflict (an attack on the
caravan/ship/carriage/whatever) and start killing off some
unimportant NPCs. The players should take the initiative to
defend themselves. The clever thing to do at this point is
to contrive some reason for the player characters to
continue to journey together, whether continuing the journey
they began, or fleeing from a common threat.

For example, a fun way to begin adventures at sea is to
shipwreck a group. This generally only works well on low-
level characters or in non-magical settings since powerful,
magical characters will quickly use magic to escape the
"trap."

It's important to allow the characters a means of escape
(*sooner* rather than later). Remember, you're just
introducing them to each other, not ruining the adventure
they planned for so carefully. This is equally effective
when characters are ambushed in a caravan. Perhaps the only
survivors are the characters who must find a way to deliver
the property. A generous reward from the surprised owner
might also be a lead to another adventure, as the merchant
passes on their names to another NPC in need of assistance.
Perhaps the characters are enslaved and must fight their way
to freedom, then eventually wander back to the origin of
their enslavement and confront their former masters.

In a particularly interesting adventure I once ran, I
introduced an NPC who was to stay with the party for the
duration of the game. He was being hunted by a powerful
character, but did not let on to the party until the fifth
or sixth "random" encounter forced them to examine their
sudden change of circumstances. Their quest became a cross-
country journey to slay the powerful bad-guy, releasing the
kindly NPC from his terrorist enemy. It could just as easily
become a quest to find safe haven for the good NPC. The
point of this anecdote is that you can only create the
story, the characters must tell it.

Casual acquaintances can be drawn together by common goals,
too. This kind of thing works particularly well in organized
social settings, such as city-based adventures. Have a
common benefactor assemble the party to perform some task
that requires subtlety (hiring "nobody" characters to
perform the task). Finding they are well suited for this
line of work may lead to more difficult and higher profile
missions, or they might be farmed out to others needing such
service. In one adventure that I ran, the benefactor's dying
wish was for his "friends" the player characters to stop a
political threat he had uncovered before falling ill to old
age. They were also offered a sizeable portion of a fabulous
will to perform the last request. It was a smash hit of a
game as the players really dove into the mission with the
shared motivations of satisfying the last wishes of an "old
friend," saving the city from an evil usurper, and getting
lots of loot!

This next method is really unorthodox, but it works very
well with seasoned players who are willing to choose a
leader amongst themselves and follow that leader (at least
to his death, if not to their own). Start with just one
player, the leader. Give him a mission that has obvious
"parts" that fall well outside his capabilities (this works
best in iconic game systems, like D&D, where certain
"classes" are better at specific things than anyone else).
Leave it to him to "find" the rest of the party and assemble
them. Allow him some leeway with motivations, such as
finding the "Thief" in prison and offering her freedom in
exchange for discrete services, or making a sizeable
donation (paid for by the leader's Lord, of course) to the
local church in exchange for the "services" of an acolyte in
need of field experience. Even offering a mercenary warrior
a regular pay schedule (plus a share of loot) to fight for
them can be a nice introduction. Have the first player start
out on a previous game session, or early before the other
gamers show up, and as they arrive, segue into each new
character's "hiring" by the leader.

If the game is to have darker overtones, and the characters
being played don't have an altruistic nature, there are
still many ways to motivate them to work together towards
common goals. Blackmailing a bunch of criminals into doing
your dirty work for you is an excellent way to band together
a group...of course, their _ultimate_ goal should be revenge
on their blackmailer, but until they're strong enough for
that, you have them at your beck and call. Characters
motivated by greed are fairly easy to motivate. Just
remember, if you hint at fabulous treasure, be sure there
actually is a fabulous treasure there sometimes, or the
players (not just the PCs) will become jaded and not trust
you when you tell them "a fabulous treasure awaits you."

Watch lots of movies. Read lots of books. Check out some of
the better drama shows on TV today. Ocean's Eleven is an
excellent example of the Leader plan described above. The A-
Team (in spite of its sub-par production) has an excellent
introduction concept, where the characters are all veterans
and compatriots held together by the common threat of their
falsified treason charges. They are a good example of the
wandering adventure intro described earlier in the article.

In the Lord of the Rings, the Fellowship was created by
individuals drawn towards a common goal by a benevolent and
knowledgeable leader (Elrond and/or Gandalf could be seen in
this capacity). In the movie Sneakers, the main antagonist
used threats of jail time for their leader to coerce the
characters into working together. They eventually discover
the antagonist is into worse things than they themselves
were ever guilty of, and band together to double-cross him.

In the book "Earth" by David Brin, the main characters
discover they are already working towards common goals
independently, and pool their resources to provide a
solution to the threat that faces them. In many TV dramas,
the characters start out working together, with little
representation of "how they got started." This too can work
sometimes.

Here's another anecdote to help illustrate that idea. These
guys have no idea how or why they are together, but, after
only a four hour gaming session, they are sending email
plans for future encounters to each other and working out
systems of communication to counter some of the difficulties
they came up against. They are totally intrigued, and
totally into their characters:

"It is nearly midnight. The forest is softly lit by
starlight, but no other lights pierce the veil of darkness
beneath the great pines. Five figures in close fitting
garments move between the trees, pausing only to locate each
other and then advance again. Perched high upon their heads,
each of the five slender sneaks wears a light gathering
monocular.

They approach to within 200 yards of the ratty looking shack
and they gather into a small huddle. They quickly discuss
the last-minute details of their attack, and one of them, a
female, begins to climb a tree on the edge of the small
clearing that hosts the little shanty building, readying a
VERY large rifle when she reaches her desired perch. The
others split up into two fire teams--pairs of soldiers,
prepared for nearly anything. They know that there's an
innocent young woman somewhere in the little building, and
they also know that there are at least four heavily armed
men just waiting for something like what they are about to
attempt. The lead man of each team tries each door in turn.
They are unlocked, and the word is passed silently by hand
signals to the spotter in the tree. The spotter, after
receiving the signal from both sides, whispers a curt "Go"
into her throat mike."

The GM looks up from his reading and announces to the
players: "Roll for initiative."

"Wha...", "Hey, don't we get to..", and "I'm not ready..."
are the nonplussed and even frightened replies from across
the table. The player whose character is in the tree smirks,
she is not in immediate danger...for the moment. Rolling
ensues, and combat is dished out quickly and violently.

"The night sky lights up with the blast of small arms fire
as the two teams burst through the doors, guns blazing."

There are more than four men in the building (six, actually)
and they all have AK 47s. The chaos that comes from the
brief but intense firefight leaves one building dangerously
close to collapsing, one very shaken but alive kidnapee, two
of the player's characters on the ground--bleeding and
unconscious with multiple bullet wounds--and three others
gasping for breath and scared out of their wits. The GM sits
back in his chair and announces, "Stop the exercise, Helmets
up! You guys just got two of your team killed! What the hell
was that cowboy crap you knuckleheads just pulled?"

The GM, in an aside, describes the furious Handler who is
stomping up and down the aisles of the VR Training
Laboratory of a secret government agency. The players are
unharmed, the entire scenario was virtual reality, and the
players' first exposure to d20 Modern was a violent and
shocking introduction to the dangers of being in a gun
battle. After that, the player characters are briefed on
their first mission by their Handler, who takes down their
equipment requisitions after allowing them time to create a
plan for their mission. It is to be an extraction; similar
to the VR exercise they just blew. They plan carefully and
work together like a well-oiled machine. The first night
with the new gaming system is an amazing success.

@@@@@@

From: Mark H.

The first step I always take is the character creation
process. I try not to let my players create characters
completely in a vacuum, but to actually have them already
communicating with each other. Ideally, several or all of
the characters already know each other. I'll also know what
each character or group of characters plans to do in the
short term.

For instance, in my most recent game, one character already
knew two others. One of those lived in the city and the
other was a new arrival. The middle one introduced the other
two just as a matter of course. The fourth character was a
courier who was supposed to deliver a letter to someone in
the city. Bringing him into the circle occurred as part of
the events in the first session.

Once the characters have been made, I move into the first
session. That session should, ideally, be a session that has
many random events in it. This gives them ample opportunity
to randomly run into each other and maybe take part in one
of the events together. This also gives many points for a
new plot to develop.

For instance:

* A courier delivers a letter, but the recipient gets
  poisoned, prompting the courier to meet with police, local
  alchemist, lawyers, and possibly other prisoners.

* There is a big (or small) celebration with scavenger
  hunts, public performances, and (as always) drinking. Maybe
  a criminal PC steals something from another PC in the crowd.

* The characters are all attached to someone important, and
  each of those important people mingle with one another,
  giving their aids--the PCs--the chance to mingle.

* A mutual friend/lawyer/journalist/city
  guard/merchant/ruler (probably, but not necessarily, an NPC)
  hosts a party/religious ritual/business meeting/has need of
  some assistance which pulls the disparate groups together.

* One group of PCs is contracted to find/recruit/kill/steal
  from the other (this only works if the hunters decide not to
  harm the hunted).

* The PCs are all hunting the same enemy/treasure/mysterious
  event.

There are two quirks about the random events idea. One is
that each event needs the possibility of leading to a larger
story. Maybe all that's necessary is that the GM encourage
lots of roleplaying and leaves behind various carrots that
don't lead to anything this session. The other quirk is that
there will need to periodically be sessions that have many
random events. This should up the feel that the world is
turning with or without the characters and that not
everything is related to the story that the characters have
chosen to follow.

Also, keep in mind that the first session is the best time
that I have ever found for divulging a limited segment of
the world and it's environment. All of the reading material
out there will not reveal the minutia of the culture as
smoothly as functioning in that culture. This is also the
first opportunity to find the most hideous mistakes made in
creating a world or a culture.

@@@@@@

From: Mark L. Chance
      http://www.anubium.com/

Here's a tip for the first session of a campaign:

Always start your first session with action, meaning a
conflict or problem of some sort. Once characters are made
and you've set the initial scene, either give each player a
reason or have the player give you a reason why their
respective characters are at the scene. Then, once the scene
is set, break into the action. Here are a few things to keep
in mind:

1. Ensure the characters are the people at the scene most
capable of dealing with the sudden problem.

2. Keep the number of extras in your scene to a manageable
number. You don't want the NPCs overshadowing the characters
or diverting too much attention away from the characters.

3. Have at least a brief backstory explaining why this
particular trouble starts at this particular location. It
doesn't matter if the characters don't have a clue about
this backstory while the excrement hits the revolving
blades.

4. Don't worry if none of the characters know each other in-
game. It doesn't take players long to figure out that, yes,
that other fellow is a player character, and we're supposed
to end up as an adventuring group. In other words, the
starting action provides a convenient cover for the metagame
aspects of party formation.

Starting right away with action has several advantages to
the standard meet-and-greet in a tavern.

1. It gives the players the chance to try out their
characters immediately.

2. Action is more exciting than inaction. Keep in mind:
Action is not limited to violence or chases, as anyone who
has ever watched a spirited parliamentary debate can attest.

3. The event itself can serve as a springboard into other
scenarios. An NPC who witnesses the characters at work may
be impressed enough by them to pay for their services. The
opposite may be true as well: An NPC witness may label the
characters as potential troublemakers or even threats.

Of course, a good example always helps. Here is an initial
scenario I used for a Stormbringer campaign several years
ago.

The opening scene was a merchant ship sailing to a bustling
port city. Each player had to submit to me why they were on
the ship and whether or not this reason would come up in
conversation. I had a handout ready that described each
character and the few major NPCs. It also included tidbits
of background information that could be deduced from being
at sea with said people for several days. The starting
action was a poker game in which the various characters were
either participants or spectators. One NPC gambler was a
vengeful sorcerer. Another was a wealthy merchant.

During game play, we actually played cards, using poker
chips as gold pieces. Conversation was in-character. At an
appropriate time, I let slip to a player that the sorcerer
was cheating. In-game, I used two decks of cards, one
stacked so that I could pull the sorcerer's winning hands.
Immediately, accusations fly. Since only one character saw
the cheating, not everyone was inclined to believe him. Even
a few rounds of violence erupted before more level heads
prevailed. The poker game accomplished several goals:

1. It introduced all of the characters as well as a few key
NPCs.

2. It gave everyone a chance to briefly see how combat
works, which was important since no one had played
Stormbringer before.

3. The wicked sorcerer was set up as both a villain as well
as someone with an axe to grind against at least one
character.

4. The merchant, impressed by how needless violence was
avoided, was impressed by the coolness under fire of other
characters.

5. Most importantly, it was fun.

Once in town, the merchant provided my hook to create the
party, hiring the characters on as bodyguards for an
overland journey. The time in which the characters took care
of personal business and made ready to accompany the
merchant gave the wicked sorcerer time to plot his revenge
against those who had embarrassed him.

Voila! The campaign had begun!

@@@@@@

From: Roy D.

Things to consider when beginning a new campaign:

1. Does the new campaign spin off from the previous
campaign?

If so, then transitioning into the new campaign should be
relatively simple, like finishing one movie in a trilogy and
picking up with the next (think Star Wars). The catalyst for
getting the party moving into the next campaign can be as
simple as providing transport to where they need to be next.
An NPC may provide vital information on an unresolved plot
element from the previous campaign. The party may get a tip
from someone on the whereabouts of an enemy or an enemy's
lackey that escaped in the prior adventure. Or, like in Star
Wars: ESB, placing the NPCs in an entirely new location
after an unspecified period of time.

The main trick is to carry over bits and pieces of the
original campaign into the next to give a sense of
continuity. The victories/losses and scars/trophies of any
adventure help to develop the characters and direct the way
they interact with their game world and each other.

2. Is the campaign entirely new, beginning with brand new
player characters?

The first adventure of a new campaign with new PCs should be
the point where the PCs meet for the first time. Some
exceptions could be if they're part of the same military
unit/government organization/political party or other group
where they may have had contact with one another prior to
the adventure's beginning.

Drawing new PCs together can follow the classic formula
where, having no prior contact with one another, they are
inextricably drawn together into the campaign by a chance
meeting with an NPC, or even one of the PCs, in trouble.

The first meeting between new PCs is a great time for role-
playing since not only are the players getting a feel for
their own character, they are also trying to figure out how
best to interact with the other PCs. The game master can mix
it up by providing circumstances where two or more PCs with
differing world views/alignments may come to odds on how to
deal with a given situation. Have fun with it!

3. Can a short single-sitting adventure or single encounter
be turned into a larger ongoing campaign?

Never underestimate the possibilities of any encounter to
blossom into a grand adventure. Draw from the obscure
reference or easily forgotten encounter to form the basis of
any new campaign. That randomly generated encounter with the
thugs in the alley can easily be shaped into an all out war
with the local thieve's guild or crime lord. Turn one of
those thugs from the alley into a recurring mortal enemy
seeking the PCs destruction. The possibilities are only
limited by your imagination.

@@@@@@

From: Noah

I've found that first adventures can be really easy or
really hard, usually for the same reasons any adventure can
be hard. The trick for me was to know the game world well
enough that I knew its limitations and advantages in places.
It helped me to have been a player in the same game world.
Another advantage was to know the players and how they
played. Plus, knowing what their characters and their
backgrounds were helped. As a good way to get used to GMing
I would just let the players work out what they wanted to do
and I would go with the flow. So, I guess it just comes down
to basic advice: if you're new at it, don't kill yourself
trying to do too much. Just ease yourself into it and find
your own style before expanding your skills.

@@@@@@

From: Mark W.

Hi Johnn,

I find city adventures an easy way for new/low level PCs to
get their feet wet. There are a lot of hooks that a DM can
use in a city setting depending on what the DM and/or player
want to do. Ranging from hack&slash style [taking out a gang
of thugs, joining a gladiatorial fight] to more storylinish
adventures [spywork, diplomacy, or just job work can be fun
in the right frame of mind]. The characters typically are
residents of the city/town and as things start I throw out a
couple different hooks and see what the players take
interest in. They are free to take one or all or I've even
had parties make a plot line up that I didn't even think
about.

Best thing about this kind of adventure session is that if
things get out of hand and there is a good chance that the
party will be wiped out I can easily come up with day-
savers, such as town guards come to the rescue, a passing
cleric or paladin, or an NPC inadvertently finding the clue
that's stalling the adventure. Not that these hooks are new-
-I just find that in a city setting they are easier to
believe.

As a side benefit, I can use this method as a tool to judge
player's abilities as well as for them to experience my
DMing style. As things progress I can change my style to
what the players are more interested in.

@@@@@@

From: Jason W.

Dear Johnn,

This is in reply to your request for tips regarding the
first adventure:

Recently, I started a game and the players being what they
are--easily side tracked--I needed a way to hook them fast
(in both definitions of the word). Generally, I always run
one very short solo adventure with each player to get their
character into the group and to get a feel for their style,
strengths, and weaknesses. Therefore, I sat down with each
character and had them run through an adventure that had to
deal with their background or personality.

For example, the paladin who had been staying at the local
church was sent on to find a member of the faith who had
disappeared; the cleric of the God of Travels wandered into
a mage with a centaur slave pulling her wagon, etc.

At the end of each of these adventures, I made sure to have
the characters subdued and bound in one way or another. Now,
I introduce the characters to each other as each of them
wakes to find themselves bound in a dark, dank location.
After they're all awake, the villain for the next several
adventures enters and injects each of them with a poison
that, if not cured within X number of days, will kill them
(see below). He then demands a job completed in return for
the antidote.

The major benefit of this format is that the characters are
firmly together on one specific purpose and are not likely
to be easily distracted. Another benefit is that the NPCs
used to subdue the characters in the individual adventures
can be brought back later to make for some very personal
villains for the characters.

The format's drawbacks are that it's a little more time
consuming and complex than 'Help Wanted - Inquire Within'
and if not played up correctly can be seen by the players as
stringing the characters along.

Sidebar: The poison I invented for this is Stirge Eggs. The
idea is that, to reproduce, stirges lay their eggs inside
living creatures to incubate. After a few days' time, the
eggs hatch and the tiny stirges eat their way out--making
for a very interesting death to the unfortunate adventure to
be injected with said eggs.

[ Stirge info:
http://www.opengamingfoundation.org/srd/srdmonsterss.rtf ]

@@@@@@

From: Zleviticus

Recently, I found myself trying to answer the same question:
How am I going to get the new PCs together on a mission? If
you are like some it is easy, just say they knew each other
from the start. I don't like this method as it eliminates
some good roleplaying opportunities.

What I did this time is start them like I normally would: no
one knows each other. This time they did not have any
equipment and needed to buy some, so I used the store as a
quick mission for some cash and to set up my MAIN plot.

Sometimes I often think of the big picture. Ultimately, what
do I want the PCs to do in the end? Save the world from some
sinister plot? Is someone slowly trying to take over the
town? I then think of a way to get them going and give them
a small taste of what they will be going up against. Not so
much "WHAM! here you go," but more of a taste that they
won't correlate with their current mission and will drop as
being unimportant until later on when they say "Hey didn't
the guy at the inn say something like this a while ago?" or
"ahh, now I know why those things were collecting those
items."

Another way I like to start things off is to put them in a
situation where they HAVE to work together. An episode in
the town square perhaps.

Perhaps you can tie their families into the mission. Maybe
each of the household heads have been asked to come together
for something important.

Finally I like to go through a monster catalog and mark
monsters that the PCs could handle. I then start to think of
a way in which I could use them for the first adventure. I
think that the old kobold, goblin, orc at first level gets
boring and overdone, so I do something different. I have
more fun this way and it makes the PCs think "what have we
gotten ourselves into!"

@@@@@@

From: Lucas D.

Whenever I start a new campaign, I try and get three things
done in the first session.

1) Give the players a goal.
2) Give them a reason to stay together.
3) Give them a chance to "show off".

I try to avoid the typical "You are all called here to the
Runn'o'damill inn by the great lord Ineveragame."

The goal is easiest. Create a focal point for the first
adventure that each character needs to deal with. The
easiest is a "thing", whether it is a person, place, or
item. At the start of one campaign (my only successful
campaign, btw), I used a retired explorer as the focal
point. One character was related and had a family business
with him; another was a thief who was blackmailed by a
thieves' guild into taking back money the old man owed the
guild; and the other two PCs were investigating a map
dealing with one of the old man's adventures. Try to come up
with reasons for each character to deal with the focal
point.

Next, give them a reason to stay together. Put a slant on
the focal point. It is missing, damaged, or whatever. Now
the characters have a common goal. Find the thing, fix the
thing, etc. In the above example, the old man was missing.
The characters now have to work together to deal with the
problem at hand, hopefully proving to each other they are a
good team and would do well to stick together.

How do they prove that, you say? Let them show off their
fancy skills and abilities. In the first session (or the
first couple at least, depending on how efficient your group
is with time), single out each character with a problem
their character is not built to deal with. Give the fighter
a brain teaser, the mage a physical test, the thief a
"something" test (what can't thieves deal with?). This way,
they all get a chance to see what the others are capable of.
You can use it for clues too. Each character has a piece of
the puzzle so to speak, but their character is not built to
deal with it. The fighter has a magical puzzle box, the
wizard has the name of a shady bar only the fighter would
know of. They each get to help the other characters with a
problem, proving their usefulness to the group.

Well, that's my two cents, for what it's worth. Good luck in
all your future gaming.

@@@@@@

From: Jeff L.

Here's an idea that I used for creating the first adventure,
tied in with character creation and the introduction to a
new world.

Most of the players had played games in a published world
(Warhammer) but this new game used a combination of rule
systems and was set in a brand new fantasy world that I (GM)
have created a small section of.

It was agreed from the beginning that the group would remain
together and after that the players could choose to remain
together or otherwise. This reduced free will slightly
during the first session but it made it easier for me to
hook the players into a world and leave hints for all sorts
of potential adventures. After the first session the free
will would be alive and well with all sorts of adventure
options.

Character creation with Warhammer has some choice and a lot
of dice rolling. I then added the ideas found in roleplaying
tips on character creation for developing characters. So we
started with character creation and a scenario, what I like
to call our movie length premiere. (An entire Sunday, our
games are typically three hours).

This meant the players developed new characters. History,
family, etc., based in the world they have played in
previously. And as the GM I listened to their character
creation and invented reasons why they were all in this one
inn at the same time, on the world where their character
development has taken place, most of them sitting at
separate tables and not knowing each other at all.

Then an NPC enters the inn looking for adventurers to help
in a lifelong quest.

Here the adventure could be anything. But the one I set for
my players was to unify a land on a completely different
planet and anyone in that inn that didn't agree would have
to be killed because the NPC didn't want anyone to know he
could travel from another world. Once the PCs agreed the NPC
gave them a potion to drink that magically transported them
to a room in a village. The village existed around the fact
that, like the PCs, other adventuring parties from wherever
have also ended up in this location after willingly,
foolishly, mistakenly, enthusiastically (or whatever you
decide) drinking that same potion.

The problem with the potion is that the future adventures of
player groups also transports to this world. i.e. If the GM
was going to take the group treasure hunting and meet some
goblins along the way, then somewhere in the world some
treasure and a bunch of goblins have turned up. If a dragon
or a vampire that has been harassing a local village was to
be destroyed, a local village and a dragon or a vampire turn
up somewhere in the world. You get the idea. The catch is
the players usually don't know the details of their
adventure in these initial stages and only the GM does.

In summary:

A NPC can bring an unconnected group together, using threat
of violence (the additional use of magic or greater powers
makes it more feasible for my game). Player agreement means
that no matter what happens during that first movie length
session the group will remain together, giving you time to
develop plot, suggest potential scenarios, and introduce
them to the world.

@@@@@@

From: Elemental Knight

In the campaigns I've run so far, one thing that always gets
the action started quickly is dropping the players head-
first into a dangerous situation. For example, in the Disney
movie "Aladdin", the first time we see the hero is when he's
running from the guards through the main street of the city.
Using exciting locations, and making sure the players
understand the conflict they've been dropped into, are
extremely useful in this situation.

In the campaign I'm currently running, I had the PCs start
out on the roof of a moving train, with a robed man on one
side and a group of warriors with swords on the other. They
found out quickly that the robed man was a wanted Mage, and
that the warriors were a group of "Special Forces" anti-mage
warriors, sanctioned by the government to kill the robed
Mage. The PCs had to choose sides, or be caught in the
middle of the battle.

@@@@@@

From: GM

One of my tricks is to ask the players beforehand what their
character would do in the opening scene. Whether it's by
email, Instant Message, or in person, this allows for a
little roleplaying before everything starts.

I always have a "hook". For instance, in my current
campaign, all my PCs, for one reason or another, answered an
ad for a group of mercenaries - but I also, then, allowed
the players to tailor their first introduction to the new
campaign world.

Because this is done before the session where everyone
pounds out character sheets and dice rolls, it gets the
players thinking about their character and what they can
plan for them to be--the first step towards a well-rounded
character. Even the hack-and-slash players in the group like
this, even if it's just "Tunk probably comes to the meeting
to see who he can beat up." It's a chance for them to have
my undivided attention for a few minutes. Those who are avid
roleplayers (those who write 15-page backstories) will spend
an entire hour, sometimes, actually RPing the first
encounter with my NPCs and the environment.

What this allows me to do is to immediately drop the PCs
into interaction with each other once we start playing. I
don't have to ask for descriptions and actions, I can
narrate the entire "opening scene" without interruption, and
spotlight each of the PCs for a moment.

"In the city of Annagar, on the Island of Caldera, is a
small inn. At this inn, a tall, black-clad elf sits at a
bar. He turns as a red-haired ranger enters, leading a
silver wolf...." and so on.

It also gives me a look into the motivations of the
characters at the very beginning. Tunk the dwarven fighter
might, on his character sheet, be looking for the murderers
who killed his wife, but at that moment, all he wants is a
good fight. With such an immediate hook for each character,
I can drop hints and clues into the first encounter without
throwing the entire campaign plot into their faces in the
first 30 seconds.

That's another thing I've found useful. My players seem to
enjoy being eased into whatever plot there is without the
constraints of a rigid plotline from the start ("I've called
you here to stop the evil organization"). I just try to
plant enough clues and little hooks in the first situation
to catch them.

An open slate of player/PC decision paths is important in
every game, but more so in the first one. Let them choose to
follow your plot. If they don't right away, you can always
find ways in later episodes to have it come back to bite
them in the ass. Just know the world and people in the
immediate area where the PCs are and you should have little
problem following where they chose to go.

Don't be afraid to play by the rules of the world either. If
getting in a bar fight would get them all arrested or thrown
out of the city, and they start that bar fight, then throw
them in jail. (But make it seem like that was the last thing
you expected them to do.) If you've GMed before, you've
learned that they can usually get themselves in far more
trouble without any help from you than you could ever dream
of getting them into.

If nothing else, make the first session detailed. Describe
the random street goons. Give specifics (even if you make
them up on the spot) of every building they enter. Put 3
alehouses in the city instead of one. Hand out a map showing
every major street and location of the city, or every city
and large town in the area. Make your plot hooks numerous
and varied and complicated if you want. They've got all the
time in the world (or campaign) to pick one and follow it.
Make them big, or subtle, or both. Go for "cinematics."
You're going to be buried in plotlines in later game
sessions, now's the time to play around a little bit.

@@@@@@

From: Draz

The greatest problem with the first session of any campaign
is keeping the PCs together. Why should four PCs, each with
their own agenda, journey together? This becomes complicated
with evil and good characters, and near impossible while
making it appear they have "free will." If they did have
free will, they probably wouldn't join up. The real question
of the matter is "What story hook will bind these characters
together while giving the semblance of free will?"

We want to avoid situations in which the PCs attempt to
leave the prepared area or quest prepared for them. The
solution is not to ask them to take the quest, but to force
it upon them. Instead of asking them to hunt bandits (which
they may refuse), have the law accuse them of being the
famous Four Thieves of Gildenroewen. Now wanted, the four
PCs need to work together to escape, find their
dopplegangers, capture them and the loot, and clear their
names (or keep the loot or whatever they choose).

With this situation, the PCs feel as if they still have free
will. They get to introduce themselves to each other, get to
use their own unique skills to escape and find the bandits,
and get to choose their own outcome. The slight legal
restriction you place only limits their travel within a city
and prevents them from taking up other quests in the
meantime. After this first session, a "bond of teamwork" or
at least familiarity surrounds the group, and they can take
up further quests together, possibly to find out who would
frame them and why.

There are a few other tips to a first session:

Keep it short, simple and easy. PCs want a conclusion and
some gratification by the end of the session.

Include a single, good magical item in the loot to inspire
the sort of "Ooh Aah" fireworks reaction of wonder and cause
battles of ethics over whether or not to return it.

Let them go where they want, within reason. If they want to
search the city for the bandits, good. Reward good
roleplaying and ideas. If they want to skip town, point out
lack of transportation, large distance between towns and
guards at the gates. If they STILL persist and steal rides
or hide in a wagon, have them succeed but stumble across the
bandits (perhaps hitching a ride in the bandit escape wagon
out of town!).

Avoid saying "you can't do that" at all costs. It ruins the
sense of free will. Give a near impossible dice roll, or
suggest an alternative, but never crush a person's idea.

Lastly, have some portion of the first session become of
greater importance later. The four thieves they capture
become greater villains. The magic item is actually one of a
set. The thieves were working for a secret cult that
mistakes the PCs for the thieves and hires them. Bringing up
a feature from your first adventure tends to bring nostalgia
to the session.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Have more fun at every game!

johnn@roleplayingtips.com

End of Supplemental #16

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@