[3.5] Advice for first session introductions as a DM

[olejars]

I'm planning on running a Norse flavored campaign with the Asgard pantheon and I'm having trouble coming up with a non cheesy way of having the PC's have intitial purpose. I figured I could have you, the playground, bounce around some ideas from your collective experience as to what has worked the best. I'm trying to stay away fromt he cliched tavern scene at first, if the PC's end up there on their own volition then more power to them.

[Pink]

This can depend a lot on the composition of the party, ages, races, classes, level, motivations, known allies, etc. The more you can tell us on all of those fronts, the better.

The idea that immediately struck my mind though is a coming of age ceremony. This gives a little bit of culture, allows them a chance to bond over a common goal, and gives opportunity to add an antagonist or two who are also apart of it, but may not want to work together as a team.

[Hawkfrost000]

How about this, they meet in a tavern...

In the middle of a barfight!

The fight is their meeting point and their first battle all in one.

DM

[LrdoftheRngs]

An interesting way that I introduced everyone was to have a good aligned character be accosted by a plot-hook giving NPC outside of town, telling him that the town was under attack by zombies. He then proceeded into the town, and went recruiting. He found the other players throughout the town, and they joined fr different reasons: One was hired by the town, one had lived there all his life and wanted to defend it, one was part of the town militia and was assigned to the task. Don't know if that would work for you, but it was a change of pace for my players.

[Knaight]

I'm fond of the In Media Res option personally. They are fleeing from locals after a raid gone bad, trying to get back to their ship. The obvious complication is something that makes that impossible (someone torched it).

[olejars]

I would love to give you guys more info on party composition and the like. But I do like the coming of age thing and the raid gone bad. I'm going to be starting these guys around level 3-5 and it's at the end of the big harvest. So I think that will work out great.

Also, Ragnorok is coming.

[LibraryOgre]

"My name is Ahmed ibn Fadlan ibn Rashid, and things were not always thus..."

If you're going with a Norse basis, how about they're heading out on a sailing ship, out to raid the Southerners for the gold and slaves?