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View Full Version : You Meet In A Tavern.... The Tavern Is On Fire....



TheYoungKing
2010-03-25, 07:08 PM
DMed the first gaming session in a while (scheduling conflicts, a party drop-out, and a few other things) and so we had a new player, who had to be introduced, and I had to get the PCs back into the action.

So I set the inn/tavern the old PCs and new PC were staying at on fire. Certainly got the ball rolling. An improptu evacuation of the tavern's patrons into the churchyard labyrinths (long story there)

Anyways, does anyone else have any stories about rather abruptly messing with party introductions and pushing the players right into peril?

Private-Prinny
2010-03-25, 07:10 PM
Not from the DM, no, but I get a lot from my fellow PCs. Including lighting a tavern on fire.

PhoenixRivers
2010-03-25, 07:12 PM
Imagine starting off trying to explain to the town guard that you shouldn't be arrested.

I had a group of PC's (the players all knew each other well, but the characters had never met) start a campaign with basically "you've been accused of instigating a bar fight." Town guard there and everything. Oddly enough, they failed, spent a night in jail, and left. They'd all gotten seperate information from me, and some of them collaborated information while in jail, leading to an adventure hook that they figured out on their own.

Math_Mage
2010-03-25, 07:15 PM
Imagine starting off trying to explain to the town guard that you shouldn't be arrested.

I had a group of PC's (the players all knew each other well, but the characters had never met) start a campaign with basically "you've been accused of instigating a bar fight." Town guard there and everything. Oddly enough, they failed, spent a night in jail, and left. They'd all gotten seperate information from me, and some of them collaborated information while in jail, leading to an adventure hook that they figured out on their own.

I saw something like that in a PbP game. The players were out shopping, and a thief stabbed a guard trying to get away. Most of the party pursued, while one member stayed behind to heal the guard. Result: The one party member got heaps of praise, and the rest almost got thrown in jail, essentially for brawling in town. Unfortunately, they didn't end up behind bars in the end.

SlyGuyMcFly
2010-03-25, 07:21 PM
Yep. Great way to get PCs to meet each other. Something like 'You meet in a Zeppelin... The Zeppelin is on fire. And about to crash into a mountain. And the crew have all been murdered.' Really helps break the ice.

aivanther
2010-03-25, 07:26 PM
Once on a semi-home brewed 3.5 game I was in the DM had our giant train got derailed by some giant cannon and turned into a massive melee on the spot. It was pretty effective at getting the ball rolling.

Eldariel
2010-03-25, 07:33 PM
We actually had one game that started in a roadside tavern...which got attacked by trolls midway through the first introductionary lines. As a consequence, the PCs ended up torching the whole place.

Kaiyanwang
2010-03-25, 07:36 PM
The tavern is on fire, only?

Sorry, not enough gritty. :smalltongue:

Flickerdart
2010-03-25, 07:42 PM
The tavern is on fire, only?

Sorry, not enough gritty. :smalltongue:
The fire is also on fire.

Kaiyanwang
2010-03-25, 07:54 PM
The fire is also on fire.

*nods*

it's a start.

:smalltongue:

PhoenixRivers
2010-03-25, 08:35 PM
*nods*

it's a start.

:smalltongue:

The tavern is also on a houseboat.

The water around the houseboat, with the fire that is on fire??

That water, is also on fire.

Kaiyanwang
2010-03-25, 08:38 PM
Cool. We need bears now, I guess.

Tavar
2010-03-25, 08:41 PM
Better yet, fire-breathing bears. That are on fire.

Dragero
2010-03-25, 08:41 PM
I like to introduce new PC`s as NPC`s at first.

One of my players NEEDS to have sex with EVERY female NPC I put in front of him. He saw the new female gnome, then rolled a natural 20 on diplomacy and 19 on bluff.

"You go into the bedroom for 20 minutes. By the way, thats Bob`s character"

JGoldenberg
2010-03-25, 08:46 PM
Better yet, fire-breathing bears. That are on fire.

Nessian Hell Bears for the win?

Thajocoth
2010-03-25, 08:54 PM
As soon as the players gathered around the table, before anything, I said "Roll Initiative". I was, however, using initiative to decide what order the players arrive to the place they'll be meeting one another at, and thusly the order of introductions.

Then, in one of the campaigns I did that in, I had a pair of paladins bust in all Spanish Inquisitioney. They should've fell but didn't, and no player noticed this fact. Maybe because it was 4e... But they were Paladins of a LG deity, which the PCs did identify...

Lord Vukodlak
2010-03-25, 08:54 PM
Going way way back to 2nd edition my first D&D character an Elven Ranger,

Some dwarves offer me a drink, the DM has me make a wisdom check. I make it. He tells me I'm a little suspicious. I pass out and they steal my pants.

This same elf on his first adventure was knocked out by a poison needle and missed the first fight, the second fight occurred at night and by the time he got equipped and out of the tent it was over. For the third fight, he was knocked out from behind dragged off and held captive by amazon women.

All in all he had a very nice time..

Haven
2010-03-25, 08:58 PM
The fire is also on fire.

Like this? (http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv205/haven_bucket/flaming_fire.png?t=1269569316) Obligatory! I should sign that thing in case other people start linking that.

Sir_Elderberry
2010-03-25, 08:59 PM
I'm a bit infamous in my group for doing this--I'm trying not to do it in my new mods. I've done "You're in a marketplace, when Zairtails come out of the ground. Roll initiative." and "You're in a courtroom in Waterdeep, suddenly there are wights outside. Roll initiative."

Except there's always a good paragraph of description beforehand. To lull them.

Shadwen
2010-03-25, 09:06 PM
Im usually the player who gets the ball rolling. I tend to set things on fire or do something to make things go.

TheOOB
2010-03-25, 09:07 PM
I had a campaign set that started in the Free City of Greyhawk right as someone targeted the area with the Invoked Devastation. The party was just outside the radius.

Skorj
2010-03-25, 09:08 PM
My current forum game started with the party's entire home village on fire. :smallamused: It does tend to focus the attention.

In tabletop play, I try to start the first "actual play session" (as opposed to getting characters sorted out) of any campaign by ending the first paragraph of fluff with "roll for initiative". I highly recommend this to get a campaign started! Allow your players to start with a small selection of equipment central to their character concept, then throw them right into battle.

It's amazing how much time can be lost early in a campaign simply to shopping. Mundane gear selection goes a lot faster when you say "you have 10 rounds to loot the general store before it collapses - what do you take".

Soranar
2010-03-25, 09:53 PM
Does a flaming boat count? Cause it tends to put things into perspective when the boat you're on is both attacked by pirates and set on fire.

Nothing like the desperate need to survive to make clashing alignment and races join forces.

Silly Wizard
2010-03-25, 09:58 PM
Reminds me of one campaign I DMed. My players were all doing their own thing in a tavern, drinking and having a good time.

Then goblins jump through the windows and starting attacking

Masaioh
2010-03-25, 10:46 PM
I started my first campaign in a tavern, and then suddenly it imploded into a black hole and the PCs were in a demiplane made of jello where fish could fly and orcs could double-jump.

Pyron
2010-03-25, 10:54 PM
The tavern is on fire, only?

Sorry, not enough gritty. :smalltongue:

The PCs are on fire.

Here's another one:

"You meet in a tavern. This tavern is owned by monsters and you are all in a boiling cauldron. You are on the menu."

IonDragon
2010-03-25, 10:55 PM
I regret this even before doing it...

The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire!

JGoldenberg
2010-03-25, 10:56 PM
I started off a campaign by one of the big baddies attacking the inn they were staying at, 4/5 were put into negatives and left for dead while the 5th hid until the Magelord left.

rayne_dragon
2010-03-25, 11:00 PM
Recently we ended a session with us opening the door of a small room filled with monsters. Since we'd been pressed for time I decided to do the one thing that would make short work of the encounter: wall of fire the whole room. We started the next session with the results of that: mainly a room on fire full of exploding draconians.

WeeFreeMen
2010-03-25, 11:38 PM
For my mercenary campaign.
Non of them had met, but pre game I handed out a peice of paper with battlefield objectives on it.

When I officially started the game I said:
"You look to your left and right and notice 3 other members about you, *Insert character descriptions* , also a Gnomish inventor flys by you and attempts to pull a string coming out of his jacket. By the way, you guys are free falling about 600ft above ground."

Was hilarious what they came up with because they didnt have a cleric or wizard for feather fall. and they all tried to make the D10 use on their parachutes. 10 rounds of "Oh god! I failed the check! Quick someone grab me!"

Ahh, good times.

Frog Dragon
2010-03-25, 11:49 PM
I did this as a DM. The characters are in a tavern. Suddenly the rumored goblin army attacks the town (the army's moving was obscured magically). I roll a die and ask for a reflex save from the ranger. Against a stone from a catapult.

Fulkerin
2010-03-25, 11:59 PM
DH game:

Hunt the PCs down, each on their homeworld, knock them out with gas. For the record, one of the best ways to terrify a pc apparently.

They wake up strapped into a drop-ship, with a holo-pict explaining to them what their current mission is, and what the inquisition can do should they fail. Along with all their nice gear of course... and collars... :smallamused:

Grommen
2010-03-26, 12:07 AM
DMed the first gaming session in a while (scheduling conflicts, a party drop-out, and a few other things) and so we had a new player, who had to be introduced, and I had to get the PCs back into the action.

So I set the inn/tavern the old PCs and new PC were staying at on fire. Certainly got the ball rolling. An improptu evacuation of the tavern's patrons into the churchyard labyrinths (long story there)

Anyways, does anyone else have any stories about rather abruptly messing with party introductions and pushing the players right into peril?

Not again! We loose more tavern's this way.

My last campaign their is hardly a tavern that we stayed in that is still standing.

Coarse we have a pyro mage in the party. Might explain that problem.

Grommen
2010-03-26, 12:10 AM
I like to introduce new PC`s as NPC`s at first.

One of my players NEEDS to have sex with EVERY female NPC I put in front of him. He saw the new female gnome, then rolled a natural 20 on diplomacy and 19 on bluff.

"You go into the bedroom for 20 minutes. By the way, thats Bob`s character"

19 +4 that means I score!

Toliudar
2010-03-26, 12:31 AM
The first PBP campaign I DM'ed, we'd established that all of the PC's were travelling with a merchant caravan, but the PC's hadn't actually met each other yet. In the first post, two berserk flesh golems burst into the merchants' warehouse, where the PC's were waiting. Focuses the mind.

Ormagoden
2010-03-26, 07:51 AM
Did someone say something about bears?

Duskranger
2010-03-26, 08:12 AM
Did someone say something about bears?

Nope, no bears needed here, walk on, there's nothing to see here. No bears only fires.

OT:

My dwarvencharacter (dragon Shaman) was running from a swarm of batsies (he lvl1) that's the way he met the party. He crashed through their campfire in the middle of the night while they were asleep.

Comet
2010-03-26, 08:38 AM
If there's one thing I've learned while being a GM, it's this:

Beginning a session with "You are all at the inn/the town/ the city square... It's a beautiful day. What do you do?" tends to make the beginning of that session incredibly boring and awkward.

So, yeah. Start with an explosion. Or several. There shouldn't be a single scene in a session that isn't about either furthering the story or delivering mindblowing action!

LichPrinceAlim
2010-03-26, 01:37 PM
If there's one thing I've learned while being a GM, it's this:

Beginning a session with "You are all at the inn/the town/ the city square... It's a beautiful day. What do you do?" tends to make the beginning of that session incredibly boring and awkward.

So, yeah. Start with an explosion. Or several. There shouldn't be a single scene in a session that isn't about either furthering the story or delivering mindblowing action!

we were in a city ruled by Undead. THAT was a riot when the NG Radiant Servan of Pelor had a stroke

Starbuck_II
2010-03-26, 02:35 PM
Did someone say something about bears?

Yes, one time the DM had us start in a tavern. But the town was being attacked by bears lead by the Bear Mafia. It was more than we could bear. :smallbiggrin:

Zen Monkey
2010-03-26, 02:43 PM
I had a party wake up in a mortuary once. They weren't really dead, just unconscious, but had still been sold to a necromancer as useable corpses when the buyer at the gate hadn't checked too carefully. He and his creations/friends weren't so willing to let their investments walk out and start adventuring.

Yay for fighting zombies and skeletons with improvized weapons! Not very many characters use the crowbar and scalpel style.

Captain Six
2010-03-26, 02:48 PM
The closest I did to that was have the party starting out by meeting with the Gnome Governor who wanted a few jobs done. After lulling them into the belief that this would be standard quest giver-receiver relationship a mage fizzles in, slits the gnome's throat, fizzles out. Begin! :smallamused:

jiriku
2010-03-26, 03:04 PM
I regret this even before doing it...

The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire!

I regret that you did that too. :smallbiggrin:

I started my last campaign by telling the players that their party leader had been arrested for wanton murder of innocents, and their job was to rescue her before she was burned at the stake on the following morning. Good times.

Kalaska'Agathas
2010-03-26, 03:30 PM
Not very many characters use the crowbar and scalpel style.

There's a reason every single character I've ever built has had a crowbar.

Closak
2010-03-26, 03:44 PM
You all meet in a prison.

You are all naked and unarmed.

You are being gang-raped by the Chaotic Evil female inmates.

Suddenly zombies attack, people start dropping like flies.

The zombies are led by a corrupt politician.

The politician can cast 5'th level spells, you are all level 3, start running.

Also, some idiot set the prison on fire in an attemp to burn the zombies, it didn't work but the building is still on fire.

And there's a thunderstorm outside.


Que zombie killing with steel pipes and other improvised weapons you may expect to find in a prison.
And running from a homicidal politician.
While the whole place is on fire.

PersonMan
2010-03-26, 06:37 PM
Suddenly zombies attack, people start dropping like flies.

The zombies are led by a corrupt politician.

running from a homicidal politician.
While the whole place is on fire.

I knew that they were planning something with all of that bribe money!

MoriHikari
2010-03-26, 07:22 PM
first game intro of a star wars game my DM ran:

"Currently you are holed up in the recration room of the ship you were travleing on. rapid blaster shots come through the doorway. Roll intitiative:smallamused:"

:smallannoyed:

PersonMan
2010-03-26, 07:46 PM
In a recently restarted D20 Modern campaign(we had minor superpowers) the GM started like this:

"You are all in a plane, the government has given you your last chance and you blew it. Suddenly, the plane lurches to the side, and you see an explosion of blood in the cockpit. What do you do?"

Luckily, one of us could fly the plane. I was able to take care of the killers with a specially-built damage monster. Through an alternate, overpowered bonus system, super-high scores and damage boosters, I ended up dealing over 20 average damage per hit. At level 7. However, I hardly got to fight at all.

I'm hoping that this time will be more combat-ful.

Ozreth
2010-03-26, 08:10 PM
lol'd so hard at the first half of this.

Traveler
2010-03-26, 08:31 PM
Ran a on shot campaign with some people I know with first level characters.
DM "O.K. You have done some adventuring before so you guys know each other. You are traveling on the road to the next town. It's getting late so the sun is setting. Oh, just within bow range several goblins are shooting flaming arrows at you."
Party "We get to cover and shoot flaming arrows back!"
It ended badly for the party cleric.

Dimitrious
2010-03-26, 10:05 PM
Second or Third time I DMed, I started my party in a keep under siege. They had to defend the walls from huges waves of enemies, then climb a tower to light an emergency beacon. Enemy catapults used that as a target. The whole thing collapsed. I made them take reflex and fortitude saves.

There were five guys.

Two survived. Only one had positive hitpoints, and he was our mage. I think he had 10 HP fully healed.

CorvidMP
2010-03-27, 06:37 AM
In a past game i've literally opened up the gates of hell and emptied out all sorts of level in appropriate demonic nasties and made the name of the game for my players survival, not victory... now that was a fun game.

In my current game my players seem to have really hard time going into a tavern and not slughtering half the inhabitants...seriously it's gettign ridiculous. Granted the last time i did ambush them, but the time before that they baited a high ranking imperial legionaire into a fight and then beat him to death and lit the bar on fire...and they're the good guys in this campaign....

Fishy
2010-03-27, 07:32 AM
My PCs just started the campaign by being harassed by the local law-enforcement and fighting off zombies.

Law-enforcement zombies.

Karrnath is awesome.

megabyter5
2010-03-27, 10:02 AM
I've only DMed once, but I had a lot of fun, especially early on in the game. The fighter was a personal bodyguard to a lesser lord travelling through a small town. The rogue was involved in a plot to liberate the possesions of said lord from their owner. The druid was on his way to the town on a pilgrimage from an enclave of druids who almost never make contact with civilization. Looks like the fighter and rogue aren't going to ally easily, yeah?

...

Cue the unusually large Orc tribe zergrushing the town, killing the lord and all the rogue's associates, and burning the whole place to the ground. The three of them escaped, but I had to drop a few not-so-subtle hints that it was NOT a good idea to stay and fight. An NPC ranger meets them and explains he's been tracking the horde's movement for about a tenth of the continent, and that something has caused the entire species to join up and kill everything together. Said NPC was a recurring character whose only job was to provide information they really could have used earlier.

The PCs grew to hate that ranger. That's why I kept him around.

TheEmerged
2010-03-27, 06:02 PM
DMed the first gaming session in a while (scheduling conflicts, a party drop-out, and a few other things) and so we had a new player, who had to be introduced, and I had to get the PCs back into the action.

So I set the inn/tavern the old PCs and new PC were staying at on fire. Certainly got the ball rolling. An improptu evacuation of the tavern's patrons into the churchyard labyrinths (long story there)

Anyways, does anyone else have any stories about rather abruptly messing with party introductions and pushing the players right into peril?


Waaaaaaay back in 1979, my second time playing the game, the DM told us to roll new characters and not to buy any initial equipment. When we sat down to play, the first words out of his mouth were something like, "You wake up on a beach. The ship you slept in is crashed on a sandbar nearby. Roll for initiative."

Asheram
2010-03-27, 06:57 PM
I remember one session where we started while running over the rooftops in this Aladdin-esque setting, hunted by the city guard.

I think we were accused of stealing the Caliph's scepter or something like that.

RelentlessImp
2010-03-27, 07:00 PM
Yep. Great way to get PCs to meet each other. Something like 'You meet in a Zeppelin... The Zeppelin is on fire. And about to crash into a mountain. And the crew have all been murdered.' Really helps break the ice.

Bwahaha. Nice reference.

I think the most ridiculous way I started a game (I was on IRC, safely away from having books thrown at me) was the players started out, chatting and socializing in a tavern...

And then someone dropped a Locate City Bomb, sans Explosive Spell and replaced with Fell Animate. All the 1st-level commoners died from the 2 cold damage and rose as zombies. They had a nice panicked time trying to escape all the zombies that had suddenly risen around them.