I'm brainstorming some ways to start an adventure. Especially ways that force the party into working together and don't really offer ways to get sidelined. One idea that I'd like some help with may be a little cliche, but is below.
Spoiler:
The PCs are in a tavern enjoying a few beers and generally relaxing when a local peasant stumbles in yelling about giants attacking a farm. The PCs, being PCs, hopefully jump up and run to the door in response. Other patrons begin talking about this new event, some people attempt to return to rooms, and a few slink out the back. The PCs should charge toward the door, ready to defeat the menace. Waiting in the street is an older woman (witch) with a cat familiar, nicely dressed with a great deal of jewelry. Though her eyes are cloudy. She visibly appraises the PCs and states, “Not exactly what I was expecting, but you’ll do.”
She has foreseen that a great evil (demon, dragon, magical plague?) will be unleashed nearby and tonight. She “knows” that the evil will be summoned/released by an evil cult. She knows that she can’t prevent the evil from being summoned/released tonight, and she also knows it will corrupt her. Her plan is that if the PCs release/summon the evil, it will either eat them and go back to sleep, or the PCs are weak enough to be easily defeated before much damage is done. Whereas the original cult that she “saw” will cause much more suffering and death before they are stopped. There are still some loose ends and decisions to make. I’m not sure what kind of evil or if she expects the PCs to die in the attempt or succeed and then be defeated immediately after.
After appraising the PCs, she can either put them all in a magical slumber and take them to the entrance to the great evil, or confidently/arrogantly/dismissively turn and expect the PCs to follow. I'm thinking the magical slumber will be if the PCs don't immediately follow. She will probably make some offhanded comment about the peasant being so naive as to actually believe that she would waste her magic cursing him for life. The witch is supremely arrogant and CG bordering on CN. She believes that she will do whatever it takes to stop great evils from happening, but doesn’t much care about the little people along the way. In this specific case, she kind of believes that the PCs have agreed to whatever misfortune may befall them just by walking out the door. Sort of “If you were willing to go conquer evil giants, then obviously you are willing to do whatever I think necessary to fight evil.”
Or something like that. There's the general jest of the intro. The adventure that follows needs to be fleshed out more as well.
Sounds fun, but I expect a decent number of PCs would not react the way you need them to, in any number of bizarre ways. Maybe the rogue sneaks out back to try to ambush the enemy. Maybe they try to haggle with the peasant before they go outside. Maybe they make a Sense Motive check and realize the witch is setting them up.
For this type of effect I have kust skipped the set up and jumped right into the fallout before. Describing why the PCs where on the boat, and then skipping to describing the beach they are shipwrecked on. I once started an modern campaign in a different system by describing the cover the characters where hiding behind, and what kind of weapon fire they were pinned down by. This way there is no chance for avoiding the story hook.
My experience with players is that I'm much more likely to get a bunch of excuses if I just try to skip over it. If I try to just start with the "wake up in a clearing," thats when I will get the "but I would have..." "my character wouldn't..." etc.
Overall, if they try to avoid it too hard, then they avoid it. I'm not going to force the issue. If they stay and drink, or slink out the back, or run up to their rooms, etc, then the witch finds somebody else. We roll some dice for drinking, have some sort of game of chance, and then the players hear about things the next morning.
If they harass the peasant too much, he acts suitably scared (due to the witch). A sense motive check (~15) picks up that something else is going on. Or a perception (~18) that he isn't from the farms. Or maybe even a knowledge (~18 or 20) that he isn't describing a consistent creature. He's not asking for help for himself, so he's not trying to get the PCs involved. Just stating that something happened. If the PCs figure it out, and still go out to the street, return to Plan A. If they try to hide or escape, continue with Plan B.
I think I'm leaning towards the players getting some sort of power out of the deal. I think that anything monstrous will clean house with the characters and will be harder to create a way for them to defeat it without the witch showing up. If they pick up the Evil Mcguffin, then they have to try to destroy or abdicate it before the witch sends heroes to kill them. I guess the monster could work if it wanders off on a rampage, whereas the cult would have channeled it into a specific reign of terror. On the other hand, I could try to subvert the trope and the "great evil" is actually a bound celestial that the cult was going to use for a magical battery.
