Well, we're starting a new wilderness-oriented campaign, so that means "How do we KNOW each other?" is at us again. Now, two of the three colluded and worked out how their characters already have a history together. That leaves PC #3 out there hanging. Well, here's my "read-aloud" text that I feel should get them all introduced and working together...
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The annual spring festival held over the equinox is in full swing at Eryn Pinnath. The Elven trading outpost is a favorite place for human tribes as well as frontier Elves to gather and conduct their trades. It seems the Elf trader Cungwaw is beginning to realize his plans of pacifying at least the more local parts of the frontier. With the equinox and attendant Druidic Conclave only two days past, the new year feels full of potential despite the lingering chill in dawn's earliest hours.
It is now mid-morning and your wanderings have brought you to the horse paddocks, where several human tribes have corralled their winter herds and are already showing their animals to prospective buyers. Liveried Elves and barbaric Humans haggle good-naturedly amongst themselves and against each other.
Suddenly, on the far side of the nearest paddock, you hear terrified horses begin screaming and battering at their temporary stalls. In seconds, the panicked animals are free of the traders. With the massive animals now panicked and out of control, cries of "Medic!" are quick to be raised...
Yeah, that will probably get them together, but what happens after the cries of medic?...Will they get together just b/c they all helped the guy who was yelling for help?..Well, depends on your group...if your players dont like to make it difficult for u they will probably stay together but wut if they think the cliched cry for help isn't enough?...WELL, I dunno...also depends on the the pcs' class and allignments I guess.
Bar meet up never fails aye bro!!=)
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Last campaign I started, I had all the players be part of the Guild of Mercenaries. Their employer decided he needed a Ranger, two Clerics and a Sorcerer and, hey! instant party. Other intros I've used include being on the same stagecoach (which is then attacked by goblins), working caravan security together and hoary cliches like being offspring of old adventurers and meeting to find that treasure that eluded dad. And meeting in a tavern, of course. Just can't beat that.
Other things that could work (especially at the outset):
Old school buddies - divergent interests over time but they find themselves in the same town.
Served in the military together - in different capacities run into each other now that they are out.
Each has worked travelled with for traders/caravaners in different capacities now find themselves in the same town.
They all are all praying/paying homage at the same temple.
They are all beat to hell (for different reasons) and find themsleves in adjacent hospital beds.
They are all arrested in brawl together - and get to cool their jets and get to know each other in the local constabulary.
Whatever their backgrounds they all book passage on the same ship and end up traveling together - could use a caravan.
City is under siege and they all end up in the same shelter.
They are in a shop/stable haggling over the same piece of gear/mount - or in the market they meet by trying to trade with each other.
They are go to to the "sherrif's office to see if there are any bounties to be collected and meet each other.
If yoou want to add a single individual - rescuing that person is good.
Travelling in the same direction (less beleivable with scary looking types)
Group has a reputation and askes to join.
Group finds a patron to back them - newcomer is an agent of the patron (also gives the DM a channel to route information to the party)
Newparty member is a member of the ship's crew/caravan they are travelling with.
Catch him trying to steal something.
Catch him trying to step in and help someone.
Meet him in a shop.
See him in the slave market being sold - and acquire him as a henchman (initially)
Meet him in fencing salon (or magic school) and agree to a match.
Meet him in a magic school - he is studying the book you need -so you begin to talk.
Oh yeah and then there is this group meeting in a bar.
I have mentioned elsewhere the occasional problems my groups have coming together (it is not once when the meeting planned by DM turned to a fight...sometimes with casualties).
If the players don't come up with a background how the characters know each other and are relative strangers to each other, I prefer good old "hired muscle" introduction. Organization (temple, guild, mage school, merchant house, government) on which some or all the characters are members has a job to do and you are the ones who are put to the job. If you survive and do not hate each other, you might get the next gig too. Sometimes it can also be one of the characters who does the hiring...
One fantasy cliche I have been considering is a prophecy. 500 years ago some old geezer said that there would be a noble-born boy with birthmark shaped like a crown and he would need help of <...>, <...> and <...> to save the world from vaguely described force of evil.
The problem of course is that if the mage dies from goblin arrow in the first encounter...
...if your players dont like to make it difficult for u they will probably stay together but wut if they think the cliched cry for help isn't enough?...WELL, I dunno...also depends on the the pcs' class and allignments I guess.
Well, one can't refuse a request for healing by any non-evil person and one needs a horse - but she's also asking about picking pockets during the confusion!! :D In general, tho, my players like to take the opening of a story and run with it - I'm helping them as the DM so they'll turn around and help me by putting my efforts into play.
Thankfully.
:D
Last campaign I started, I had all the players be part of the Guild of Mercenaries. Their employer decided he needed a Ranger, two Clerics and a Sorcerer and, hey! instant party. Other intros I've used include being on the same stagecoach (which is then attacked by goblins), working caravan security together and hoary cliches like being offspring of old adventurers and meeting to find that treasure that eluded dad. And meeting in a tavern, of course. Just can't beat that.
I'm playing in a mercenary campaign, the Black Company, it worked pretty well for putting together such a versatile party...and splitting them apart too. (the vets and my barbarian went teleporting via psion, and the non-vets and my cleric/rngr got stuck in the temple they still hadn't found a viable way out of, of course if the vets had stayed they might have killed the rest of us- or just "Squirrely" the dumbass fighter, I swear he's go the common sense of a squirrel, but not why he's called that- we go by battle names, isn't that cool?)
Squirrely- one of the PCs let him be attacked by a dire squirrel, which kicked his ass, but he killed it(?). After he gets knocked unconscious(? I forget how, by the squirrel?) the regulars of the Black Company give him an ink drawn prison tattoo of a squirrel, thusly squirrely. And the sorcerer cast permanance on it. (they didn't do the tapping method that gets it under the skin)
But things don't bode well for him as he got attacked by a spider, bit, failed his sanity check (we use Call of Cthullu's rules there) and went catatonic, and he got ANOTHER prison tattoo from the Sorcerer of the party of a spider...this was of course AFTER he dropped a rusty dagger (for some reason the Drunken Monk let him have it) into a deep well in the middle of this temple...needless to say nasty Ghoul-like (or Ghast-like) monsters sprang out of the pit at us...luckily my cleric was there to rebuke a couple and the party took care of the rest, but as consequence squirrely got dropped into the well, but landed 20 ft down on some cross beams.
That being said, I'm having my players start out in their respective countries and travel toward the capital city of Salkiria- Donaree and onwards to Manifest. So no matter where they come from they're likely to meet at an Inn or the King's Court in Donaree and meet the npc I want them too either on the road or in the inn/court set up. (A couple here and there will meet on their travels to Donaree/Manifest.) They may meet the NPC, but he goes his own way and will get attacked on the road, and it is up to the party(/parties) to help him or not.
I'm going to have up to 8 or 9 players, so this will be a hell of a tavern meeting...the road they'll take is the only road into manifest, so there's a damn good chance of them traveling together to resist possible undead attacks, and there's almost a guarantee they'll run into the fight the npc gets himself into. Failing all of that, or if one group circumvents Donaree and the road out of it, then they'll all meet in Manifest...eventually.
I think the Nobles and anyone answering the King's call for adventurers to search out undead/necromancers/evil clerics for a bounty will meet in the court and be literally assigned together, but there's a chance they'll meet at the inn first. if they vary on which inn the go to- the nice one or the cheap one, then they'll be split, one group will meet one npc the other will probably go to the king's court, meet the same pc and another one.
Actually, It'll probably split up into about 3 groups...but again, all roads lead to Manifest and there is only ONE out of Donaree. Oh, and they'll probably escort/follow the caravans of the dead on the Ghostwalk to Manifest.
As long as the players agree that they'll work with you (and won't retreat behind, "well, my character wouldn't..." then your beginning is a great one. Heck, I think it's how Del meets the horse trader in that series...
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One campaign I ran started with the characters having been given gold to travel to meet a mysterious patron. Once they arrived and introduced themselves, the patron began, "I'm sure you are wondering why I've summoned you all. The time has come to reveal a part your past that you do not remember."
At which time, whack, an arrow through the eye of the patron, a big fight, and an unsolved mystery.
...if your players dont like to make it difficult for u they will probably stay together but wut if they think the cliched cry for help isn't enough?...WELL, I dunno...also depends on the the pcs' class and allignments I guess.Well, one can't refuse a request for healing by any non-evil person and one needs a horse - but she's also asking about picking pockets during the confusion!! :D In general, tho, my players like to take the opening of a story and run with it - I'm helping them as the DM so they'll turn around and help me by putting my efforts into play.
Thankfully.
:D
Yeah, I think one of the hardest things for the DM is how to keep them together, especially in my group(monk is a retard, rogue a dumbass and they always argue; the monk saying he'd probably be a better rogue if he was one{probably true xD}..)