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Addramyr
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How do you start your campaign?

Wed 20 Feb 2019, 22:00

I'm a big fan of starting a campaign (and a session) in medias res.
I'm curious about which adventure site did you throw them in (or plan to) when you started your campaign?

Also, where did you start on the map?
Since adventure sites aren't linked to a specific place on the map, I'm curious as to why you've chosen this map location to start them in.
 
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hperantunes
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Re: How do you start your campaign?

Wed 20 Feb 2019, 23:37

I've asked my players to pick a hexagon in the map to set a village named The Hollows (without giving them any context), as long as the hex was next to a river and not containing a castle or dungeon icons.

Then I asked the players where in the map they would like to start the game - they've chosen a hex neighbour to the Hollows, so I've simply created a scene where they got a ride in a cart to the village and, as payment for it, they had to tell the person the story of how the members of the group met each other.
 
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pellejones
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Re: How do you start your campaign?

Thu 21 Feb 2019, 01:49

Right. So I gave my characters a partial treasure map that they had bought with false coins they had got from somewher. Told them the name of the guy who made the map so they could get the whole picture. Told them the name of the village where he lived (they then forgot!). Put The Hollows in Ab27. Put the players on a cross road, with four roads. A sign was broken and had the name "The hollows" on it. They figured out the direction and went there and started searching for the guy who made the map... but since they only knew the name (Egon) and forgot where he lived (Ärenhem) they had a hard time finding him. They got his description after asking people, and finally found out where he lived. But to get the info, they had to do some work for Pollmor in The hollows. Good and fun start :D 
 
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Canute
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Re: How do you start your campaign?

Thu 21 Feb 2019, 10:46

My campaign began with the characters standing standing before a cave entrance in a storm. They had traveled some distance together on a "pilgrimage" of sorts, to seek out a fabled seer who could apparently answer any question. I told them they all had to decide why they had come all this way to seek out the seer. Then they entered....

(The seer was long dead, but they found some other interesting belongings.....and someone (something) else living in the seers former domain)
 
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Valyar
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Re: How do you start your campaign?

Thu 21 Feb 2019, 12:26

The first adventures I want to be exploration and survival based. The plan is to start the campaign in remote and isolated village from where they originate (the nature of the village and the demographics I will decide when the players agree on the kin they will play) that is suddenly into resource shortage due to something that happened in the neighboring villages. The characters should find out and solve the problem and hopefully discover the hunger for adventures outside of the confines of their previous lives... But this is just an idea, I might have something more brighter in the next weeks :D
 
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mafusael
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Re: How do you start your campaign?

Thu 21 Feb 2019, 15:11

My players started with a trip to the village HOLLOWS, but on the way they got random encounter with slave traders and slave hunters. They beat my characters and now they are in the GRINDBONE village - trying to raise a riot.
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Addramyr
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Re: How do you start your campaign?

Thu 21 Feb 2019, 16:20

Wow pretty cool! Thanks! Please keep 'em coming! :)

Seems like The Hollows is a popular starting spot. I think it's suggested in the book to start there, isn't it?

So far my favorite idea (not that the others are not good, not at all!) is pellejones' crossroads idea.
Not sure it's "in medias res" enough to my liking, as I like to start a campaign in an action moment to get the hype high right from the get go.

I'd probably start in a short action scene of some sort and then drop then at the crossroads. Maybe something like they are getting chased by a monster or an orc warband or something similar and they stumble at a crossroads and need to quickly decide where they're going. If they are not careful, maybe the monster/threat will track them up to wherever "safe place" they end up.
 
Daftmunkey
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Re: How do you start your campaign?

Thu 21 Feb 2019, 17:51

I wanted to start with a bit of excitement. Created a small bandit ambush near the Hollows which I placed between Blaudwater and Lake Clay (due to it being somewhat interesting central location to springboard any adventure and in a somewhat logical place as a former graveyard with a battle with Zygofer). I figured with bloodmist being newly gone, there would be a people venturing out and testing their lucks and falling to being bandits taking advantage of the situation. Had 1 bandit pretending to be a victim begging for help, leading the group into the small ambush where they had setup a few straw dummies in nearby woods to make it look like characters were surrounded and scaring them into giving away their coins (with options to spot the trap/ruse). I also thought that this would set the theme that they are not heroes on brave quests and to not trust anyone in the forbidden lands. Also playing with the idea of the players running into these bandits in the Hollows (tavern possibly) if they survive, causing tension and possibly make some enemies.

They will enter the Hollows shortly after and things will slow down a bit. But I wanted to set the tone and combat deadliness (in a hopefully somewhat safe environment) from the start as they are all former D&D players.

Haven't played it out yet, but that's what I have scheduled to play next time we get together.
 
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9littlebees
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Re: How do you start your campaign?

Thu 21 Feb 2019, 18:48

I started a new game with my group, who had done a previous one-shot in the Hollows (they never left), so this time I wanted to showcase the survival elements.

I had them create characters using the Adventurer's Booklet, and based on their "How Did You Meet" rolls, I started them off having been captured by Saurians, but recently escaped. They each got to choose one single item that they rolled up in chargen (they all choose weapons over resources), and threw them onto the map at the start of a summer Morning, having spent the previous night escaping the marshlands. Oh, and they all had the Sleepless condition, of course.

So the session basically involved them travelling to a nearby forest, hunting/foraging (they found a fox and a spring), setting up camp and sleeping one night, and then starting to explore a deep ravine in the forest (Vale of the Dead slightly re-positioned deep in a forest ravine). They came across the sleeping orc and overpowered him, but not before he rang the plate armour shoe bell, and we ended the session with them peering over the cliff edge and seeing 3 figures running towards the ladders.

I'm someone who loves starting sessions en media res, but I really wanted to impress on them the survival elements in FBL, so this took a long time to get through. Now they're at an adventure site, the survival elements will take a back seat.
I make YZE games (https://drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?author=Matt%20Kay) and produce predominately Free League content on my YouTube channel (https://youtube.com/@3skulls)
 
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Arnold
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Re: How do you start your campaign?

Tue 26 Feb 2019, 06:47

I will play a personal intro with each player, after that say will find themself as slaves in grindbone.

There, rust prince kartorda will be star quest at an auction and will buy nearly all slaves as laboureers, pleausre slaves, experiemtal stuff and so on. On slave will find himself on the altair of the rust brother.

The party will be used as star guest on a slave hunt, they will be released and a party of up to 10 slave hunters will try to get them for dinner, a rust brother and 2 wolflings under them, so they will have their trail.

After that, the survivors will arrive in the hollows. I will change that side a little bit, miss pollmore and a few others are instead halflings who form the old upper class and have a secret eor cult which will lead the village and are upset by the small new dwarf population around brewmaster yawim.

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