I’ll soon start my next #DnD campaign, and I’ve decided to start with a classic - the PCs all meet in a tavern. Now, the PCs intended to meet in a tavern and have plans to go elsewhere (the city of Ptolus, if it matters), but I want to start the campaign to start in a lively manner.

Which means populating the tavern with all sorts of weirdos for some good role-playing opportunities. Any suggestions?

    • ProfessorOwl_PhD [any]@hexbear.net
      1·
      9 hours ago

      Do you mean that as in identifying how each individual fits into the team, or establishing them as a single unit who works together? It’s important to remember that you don’t need to cover every moment of each character’s life - the session is there to introduce the players to each other’s characters, so the individual interactions of the characters meeting can happen off screen as long as the opening session established who they each are properly.

      Either way, that’s what the cart ride and 3 events are for: you start with the traveller, giving some roleplay as the group establishes who they are, if they trust them enough to travel with them, and get more information from them about the city. People get to present their character’s general demeanour, how chatty or questioning they are, what it is they pay attention to about people.
      Next up a fight, where they have to work together to defend the cart/fellow traveller. The group naturally comes together against the threat, with a common goal in mind of defending their stuff. Players get to show off their character’s fighting style and work out how they fit together - who’s in the front and back, what advantages they have in their role etc.
      Finally, a skill event letting the players flex their imagination and show off their characters noncombat abilities to each other, whether that’s knowledge checks to recall how to fix a wheel or raw athletics to move a tree aside, while again working together to overcome an obstacle.

      By the time you’ve finished you’ve given them ample opportunities to show their character rather than just tell each other about them, establishing the individuals and how they work as a team in the time it takes to reach the city gates.

      • juergen_hubert@ttrpg.networkOP
        1·
        6 hours ago

        Thank you for the alternate suggestions on how to start the campaign, but I am not going to change my setup:

        • I realize that “you all meet in a tavern” is a cliche, but it’s not actually one I have used before - my last three #DnD campaigns all started with the PCs going through the local immigration offices together, and I wanted to do something different for a change. Besides, I love playing with well-established tropes and see how I can twist them.
        • I have already told the player that this is how the campaign is going to start - the PCs have agreed to meet in this tavern because they want to travel to the big city together for their common goal (find out what their magical birthmarks mean). The tavern will serve as the setpiece for their initial meeting where the players can get a feel for each others’ characters, and get involved in the local shenanigans (some of which will be relevant for the campaign later on).

        So I am not looking for alternatives here, but local color and perhaps some red herrings.