Characters First Meeting [Archive] - Wizards Community

Characters First Meeting [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
BrokenClock
05-27-06, 12:27 AM I was just wondering how most DMs handle the characters first meeting with one another.

I was thinking of starting it off as kids. They are all together as childhood friends and something bad happens. (I'm not sure what yet) They all leave their village to do other things
and eventualy come back together. So, I would have one test adventure where the characters get to know eachother and maybe gain a level and then they meet back because they were all drawn to something out of some strange circumstance. I was also thinking of making them all give a story as to what they did after they left the village. Maybe even let them take a few ranks in some skills to show a life well lived. Or I'll scratch the whole thing.
Last City
05-27-06, 12:37 AM :) u could try look for "adventurer's fair" & "My adventure fair" thread posted here few days ago. Sguss & i both have a version of this.
Langriman
05-27-06, 12:49 AM The way most DMs do the first meeting is "you all meet in a tavern...", which has become a cliche.

IMO, a much much better way to get the party together is to tell the players at character creation that it is their responsibility to come up with backgrounds and explanations for how and why they are already in a group by the time the game starts. First meeting scenes are almost never any good.

After all, if they can't come up on their own with good reasons why they should be together, the group probably won't be very cohesive once the game gets going.
ashcat_lt
05-27-06, 12:52 AM As for how other DM's do it, try this: thinking outside the tavern (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=588891)

If your looking for help fleshing out your idea (which I think sounds pretty cool so far) I'm sure people will be along shortly. Maybe you could give us some more information regarding the world you'll be playing in?
kelvinaw273
05-27-06, 01:34 AM Current campaign I am in, the DM created the characters for us (we outlined what we wanted, he then built it on point-buy) and gave us skeleton backgrounds that included us all having lived the last few years in the same village. Once we started to get into the campaign we reworked characters a bit and filled in our backgrounds in more detail.

Worked a treat.
DarthMarasmus
05-27-06, 02:38 AM Heh, I admit to having my present party meet in the tavern, but I changed things up a bit. Instead of having a bunch of lone wolves that met in the tavern, I grouped some of them together. For example, the paladin and the thief (odd combo, I know) have known each other since childhood and have adventured together in the past (they're practically inseparable). The druid and the monk were grouped together as old friends also (sitting towards the back, trying not to be noticed as the druid is a drow in the middle of Waterdeep). The wizard was sitting at the bar getting drunk because she was mad that her fiance jilted her (played by my most experienced player, so I figured integration there would be easier). A "botched" assassination happens in the bar (the target dies, but sooner than he was supposed to), the party spots the culprit and gets embroiled in a caper in which the assassin wished to kill them because they saw his face...

That's the jist of it.
WayneTheGame
05-27-06, 08:42 AM I personally am a great fan of requiring the players to discuss background ties during character creation. Everyone doesn't need to know everybody else, but a loose familiarity with each other results from it (e.g. PC A is a childhood friend of PC B, PC C and D are cousins, PC A met PC D somewhere; so through this everybody knows everybody in some capacity, even if it's as a "friend of a friend").

I recall there was an old, old (talking 2nd edition days here) Dragon magazine that had an EXCELLENT article on this and that is what it reccomended. It's so much better than a contrived scenario; in my experience whenever this happens the PCs typically have to be forced to work together, otherwise they'd end up fighting each other (maybe it's just my group.).
BrokenClock
05-27-06, 10:34 AM When I hear about the groups some people play in, I feel happy that I play with a solid bunch of friends. They wouldn't care what I did, as long as it was in the name of fun.

I'm toying with an idea for geting them together that involves the planes. I just love Planescape.
HeartbreakerHabberdasher
05-27-06, 12:07 PM Considering how I get tired of the tavern thing I usually use combat to let them met, usually something like how they all met while searching for a maiden. My favorit is how they all waited in one area in a desert and caused the ground to collaps into an underground cave with a mess of scorpions.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
BrokenClock 05-27-06, 12:27 AM	I was just wondering how most DMs handle the characters first meeting with one another. I was thinking of starting it off as kids. They are all together as childhood friends and something bad happens. (I'm not sure what yet) They all leave their village to do other things and eventualy come back together. So, I would have one test adventure where the characters get to know eachother and maybe gain a level and then they meet back because they were all drawn to something out of some strange circumstance. I was also thinking of making them all give a story as to what they did after they left the village. Maybe even let them take a few ranks in some skills to show a life well lived. Or I'll scratch the whole thing.
Last City 05-27-06, 12:37 AM	:) u could try look for "adventurer's fair" & "My adventure fair" thread posted here few days ago. Sguss & i both have a version of this.
Langriman 05-27-06, 12:49 AM	The way most DMs do the first meeting is "you all meet in a tavern...", which has become a cliche. IMO, a much much better way to get the party together is to tell the players at character creation that it is their responsibility to come up with backgrounds and explanations for how and why they are already in a group by the time the game starts. First meeting scenes are almost never any good. After all, if they can't come up on their own with good reasons why they should be together, the group probably won't be very cohesive once the game gets going.
ashcat_lt 05-27-06, 12:52 AM	As for how other DM's do it, try this: thinking outside the tavern (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=588891) If your looking for help fleshing out your idea (which I think sounds pretty cool so far) I'm sure people will be along shortly. Maybe you could give us some more information regarding the world you'll be playing in?
kelvinaw273 05-27-06, 01:34 AM	Current campaign I am in, the DM created the characters for us (we outlined what we wanted, he then built it on point-buy) and gave us skeleton backgrounds that included us all having lived the last few years in the same village. Once we started to get into the campaign we reworked characters a bit and filled in our backgrounds in more detail. Worked a treat.
DarthMarasmus 05-27-06, 02:38 AM	Heh, I admit to having my present party meet in the tavern, but I changed things up a bit. Instead of having a bunch of lone wolves that met in the tavern, I grouped some of them together. For example, the paladin and the thief (odd combo, I know) have known each other since childhood and have adventured together in the past (they're practically inseparable). The druid and the monk were grouped together as old friends also (sitting towards the back, trying not to be noticed as the druid is a drow in the middle of Waterdeep). The wizard was sitting at the bar getting drunk because she was mad that her fiance jilted her (played by my most experienced player, so I figured integration there would be easier). A "botched" assassination happens in the bar (the target dies, but sooner than he was supposed to), the party spots the culprit and gets embroiled in a caper in which the assassin wished to kill them because they saw his face... That's the jist of it.
WayneTheGame 05-27-06, 08:42 AM	I personally am a great fan of requiring the players to discuss background ties during character creation. Everyone doesn't need to know everybody else, but a loose familiarity with each other results from it (e.g. PC A is a childhood friend of PC B, PC C and D are cousins, PC A met PC D somewhere; so through this everybody knows everybody in some capacity, even if it's as a "friend of a friend"). I recall there was an old, old (talking 2nd edition days here) Dragon magazine that had an EXCELLENT article on this and that is what it reccomended. It's so much better than a contrived scenario; in my experience whenever this happens the PCs typically have to be forced to work together, otherwise they'd end up fighting each other (maybe it's just my group.).
BrokenClock 05-27-06, 10:34 AM	When I hear about the groups some people play in, I feel happy that I play with a solid bunch of friends. They wouldn't care what I did, as long as it was in the name of fun. I'm toying with an idea for geting them together that involves the planes. I just love Planescape.
HeartbreakerHabberdasher 05-27-06, 12:07 PM	Considering how I get tired of the tavern thing I usually use combat to let them met, usually something like how they all met while searching for a maiden. My favorit is how they all waited in one area in a desert and caused the ground to collaps into an underground cave with a mess of scorpions.