[DnD]Tips on writing the start of a campaign?

I've got a large world that I have been working on for a while and now that I feel that it's developed enough, I'm going to be starting a campaign in it. My problem is that, even though I have a plot that I really like, I don't know how to get the players' characters involved in it. My original idea was something like "each of them is randomly cursed/infected by different methods and they meet up and find that, to cure it, they must do this thing" but I don't know if that feels too cliche or not. Anyways, what are some tips for writing a good story intro for a campaign?

It depends if you are going to "railroad" them on a single story or not. I would recommend setting up several "hooks" that lead to different mini adventures that all fall into your main plot in one way or another.

you can use this <a href="http://donjon.bin.sh/fantasy/adventure/" rel="nofollow">http://donjon.bin.sh/fantasy/adventure/</a> for some ideas, just refresh the page for random.

Talk to your players. It's the only way. How I usually open my campaigns is with a small one-session dungeon (or some other little self-contained area). I establish that the players are looking for something. I then ask them what they're looking for, why they're looking for it, how they know each other, who else might be interested in this, who sent you, etc. Don't bother with hooks. Sitting around a tavern waiting for some forced dialogue where the DM throws a hook at you is boring. Instead, start out with your players already in the thick of things, and ask them why they're there.

crimsyn said: Talk to your players. It's the only way. How I usually open my campaigns is with a small one-session dungeon (or some other little self-contained area). I establish that the players are looking for something. I then ask them what they're looking for, why they're looking for it, how they know each other, who else might be interested in this, who sent you, etc. Don't bother with hooks. Sitting around a tavern waiting for some forced dialogue where the DM throws a hook at you is boring. Instead, start out with your players already in the thick of things, and ask them why they're there. So talking to your players and asking them what they are looking for and why is having them make their own hook. Many players would rather explore a town and investigate possible hooks and jobs and have decisions to make based on their characters; roleplaying. It all depends on the style of the GM and the players. Never say one way is the only way.

Aurion: Here's a link to an article that might help you get started with working your ideas into your game: <a href="http://hackslashmaster.blogspot.com/2012/11/on-guide-for-new-dungeon-masters.html" rel="nofollow">http://hackslashmaster.blogspot.com/2012/11/on-guide-for-new-dungeon-masters.html</a> It's a good read but without too much bloat. There are lots of imbedded links to other articles if you decide you want to dig deeper into a particular topic.

If you have any old Magic: the Gathering cards... here's an idea to generate random plot hooks: <a href="http://betterlegends.blogspot.com/2013/01/old-magic-new-tricks.html" rel="nofollow">http://betterlegends.blogspot.com/2013/01/old-magic-new-tricks.html</a>

I have a similar approach to Ken B. I get the group in a town. I then introduce a One-shot hook. Something that gets them all working together. After this one-shot, which can last two sessions or so, the group now knows each other both in character and OOC. After that, I begin introducing plot hooks and subplot hooks in an organic way. I don't go for the "an old bearded man in gray robes and a pointy hat approaches you an asks you to throw a ring into a volcano" type quests. I tend to introduce "quests" as part of the world - overheard conversations, letters or maps discovered, fate and chance. This can be different than many are used to (as I've found). My current campaign started in a tavern. Two soldiers from the world's zealot militia strolled in and started making a fuss. The inn keeper's daughter threw a spittoon at them. The zealots reacted accordingly - and the PCs acted accordingly. After that - bam - first One-shot. Get out of town before the entire army of zealots comes to arrest and then hang you. And now the group has a thread that ties them together - they are all wanted men (and women) and being hunted.

Ken B. said: crimsyn said: Talk to your players. It's the only way. How I usually open my campaigns is with a small one-session dungeon (or some other little self-contained area). I establish that the players are looking for something. I then ask them what they're looking for, why they're looking for it, how they know each other, who else might be interested in this, who sent you, etc. Don't bother with hooks. Sitting around a tavern waiting for some forced dialogue where the DM throws a hook at you is boring. Instead, start out with your players already in the thick of things, and ask them why they're there. So talking to your players and asking them what they are looking for and why is having them make their own hook. Many players would rather explore a town and investigate possible hooks and jobs and have decisions to make based on their characters; roleplaying. It all depends on the style of the GM and the players. Never say one way is the only way. I should say, it's the best way, because it's the only way that is guaranteed to work. If you talk to your players, collaborate with them, and let them decide on major story elements, you're guaranteed to get something that they're interested in because they had a hand in creating it. It also allows the players to get into the action quickly, which I find makes for a good first session which is "grabby" and pulls them in. And working together on the premise, developing characters and situations together, is just as valid of a form of "roleplaying" as a boring tavern scene where players are waiting for the DM to drop an adventure into their lap. If you have a story idea for your players, better to level with your players about it. Make sure they're interested in what you're proposing, and work with them to come up with how their characters are involved. Otherwise, you're engaging in illusionism - trying to railroad them while preserving the facade of player choice. Or, worse yet, flat-out railroading them ("you're all cursed! Do as I say, or your characters die!"). Dangling hooks in front of your players isn't guaranteed to work because they may or may not take the hook, and may not even realize that a hook is being offered. And I don't need a lecture about what not to say.

Aurion said: I've got a large world that I have been working on for a while and now that I feel that it's developed enough, I'm going to be starting a campaign in it. My problem is that, even though I have a plot that I really like, I don't know how to get the players' characters involved in it. My original idea was something like "each of them is randomly cursed/infected by different methods and they meet up and find that, to cure it, they must do this thing" but I don't know if that feels too cliche or not. Anyways, what are some tips for writing a good story intro for a campaign? Is your plot a party-specific plot or a metaplot? Specific plot: what the players do. Metaplot: stuff that happens in the campaign world that the players may influence. It sounds like you've done a lot of prep and campaign work, so I'll address from that angle rather than arguing over the "correct" amount of prep, which these threads seem to devolve into. Cursed/infected is a reasonable way to start a short run campaign or a one-shot, but not so good for a long-term campaign. Yeah, it can work if the major plot is that everyone's infected, but the only possible goal then is to be cured, and anything after that is denouement. The game almost has to end as soon as they get themselves fixed up. If you spend time crafting a campaign setting you just naturally develop plots for it, but those plots aren't necessarily what you drop your players into. There can be plots and currents and changes happening in the world regardless of what the players do, and they can choose to get into them or not. They can still influence the world even if the players are doing something unrelated. Simplified example: You have a campaign set up on a continent with two adjacent major kingdoms, with some independent islands scattered around the coasts and maybe some hidden free cities. Some of the islanders raid the coasts, and some of the islands are claimed by one or both of the kingdoms. There is a nice valley between the two kingdoms that both want for agriculture/settlement/whatever. One of the small freeholds is in a mountain range and is held by a cantankerous and powerful wizard/monster/warlord. Now you have the basis for the environment and some conflict seeds sown. Your major secret plot in this case is that a noble house from Kingdom A, disgraced and exiled to one of the island nations years ago, has wormed its way into a position of power in Kingdom B and is fomenting war between the two. They have a secret plan to tip the scales of war in favor of Kingdom B's ruler, in exchange for the client throne of Kingdom A. This is the major struggle. Now your players enter. You describe the environment and find out what they'd be interested in. This depends a lot on what kind of players they are; no choice here is wrong. If they want to follow breadcrumbs to greatness, they're employed by one of these powers and sent on quests. At some point they will face a situation requiring a choice, generally a choice to keep following their patron power or break away from it. Maybe their patron was the exiled noble house and they find evidence that they've been manipulated into stirring up conflict. Maybe they get tempted by the exiled house or someone else because they have a reputation for greed and blood. Whatever, as long as they make a choice. Also have a no-choice default if they truly don't wish to make a decision. If they want to be free adventurers in search of stuff, then they define the stuff they want to go for and ask around. They can get leads related to your main plot or a subplot, or they may get tricked, or whatever. They've already made choices in search of their ephemeral goals, and will have a freer hand if they run into the main conflict and want to choose sides. They can also more easily just flee to an unaffiliated city-state... or start their own. If they want something wacky like setting up a postal service, they've made their own story and will have a unique part to play in the plot arc. They're going to come across pertinent information and then decide whether or not to act on it. I've found this to be a good compromise between super-strict "YOU VILL FOLLOW MY PLOT" and loosey-goosey "Whatever you want, it's cool man" styles. Be ready to vacillate between the two as the campaign and your players demand. I've had sandbox players ask me to railroad them for a session or two if they've been away for a while and need a jump start, and I've had players I thought were going down a specific road suddenly decide to jump off a cliff into unexplored territory. You don't need to be iron-handed, and you don't need to give your players 100% agency. Hell, you don't need to do anything except what you and your players enjoy, and that doesn't mean total control and knowledge on either side. As for story writing, that's a totally different thing. Crafting a story introduction is really not much different from crafting a short story. If you have some writing experience it will come in handy. If you don't, try something simpler like a timeline of things that have happened recently in the world that the players would know, maybe with some specialized tidbits for each player based on background. Play to your strengths.