how should my party start?

[Lord Noble]

So im starting a new quest the main idea is theirs this guy named lord noble he's not necessarily evil but more of insane (if you’ve ever read the tell tale heart I imagine him like that), they of course have no idea who this guy is all they know is that a new species of undead called plague born have started attacking random villages with other warriors dressed in dark purple armor. One of the characters is named Amelia shes a high class elf and is a sexy bitch with electric blue hir (class sword ranger home made) then theirs Collin hes a paladin whos faith has been shaken when his power deserted him while the plague born destroyed his family and now is relining on his martial skills in combat. Jillian is a fire mage and a total pervert. Then we have Storrt hes a wandering dwarf fighter with the strange tendency to sing and an even stranger backstory . And last we have Sparrow the leader of his barbarian clan and cleric to the god Kalagor the god of flight and peace. So I like what my players have made they have good back grounds everything but I just dont know how to get them all together. I mean why would all these different people by in one place and I don’t wont to use a tavern something more original PLEASE HELP ME!!! it would really help me

[theflyingkitty]

NOT stark naked or recently theived of all of their belongings. And NOT this way in a locked room, prison, building, etc.

[Notreallyhere77]

See my sig. Some of the ideas may not be appropriate for your characters, but I'm sure you can find one that fits.

[Lord Noble]

notreallyhere that was helpful i like them, did you make them up or found them on some sight?

[Kol Korran]

a possible idea: the meeting place is some quite remote village/ important small city at the edge of the main kingdom/ empire and so on... they have been at the edge of the places hit by the plague born, and many of their number have come to the small city, crowding it, calling upon it's leaders to do something.

you tell/ email each player their connection to this, letting them know perhaps VERY briefly who the others are. (ask them not to converse with each other as the tail begins) most of these links to the main group and story feature the Plague born somehow. i suggest to include in the stories of the characters some hints (very subtle) to this new threat, their abilities, modes of action, desires and so on- let each of them bring some new information to the group. if you can, put some of the player/ character motivation in their as well. (i'll be able to help more if you'll detail more of your characters)

Sexy blue haired noble comes there (perhaps reluctantly) or she might be of the city to participate in the talks, or perhaps be an aid to one of the diplomats/ government people. she should probably have the sort of "goverment report" info- large and wide scale, but with little details: when the attacks began, where, what order, estimation of forces (if any), that sort of thing)

Sparrow comes from his tribe (perhaps with a few others) either with the purpose of trade with the "civilized folks", or to ask for help/ offer their own to this strange new threat. (you could say that as leader of their tribe it is his duty to do this thing). Sparrow could do well to have either a vision from his god or reports from outlying members of his / other tribes, or some sort of cryptic info in old lore his tribe remembers (a song or balade?)

Collin the paladin comes from the stricken villages, he has become sort of a spokesman for some, and demands to be heard, and to be of use. Collin is the one who witnessed these horrors first hand, so give him the most graphic info, and possibly something about their actual fighting powers (or spawning?)

Jillian could be either from the military (who will probably hire fire mages to deal with undead) or from some local mage's organization taking an interest. like blue haired noble- she might do this reluctantly, but join in for carnage and profit. she may have no real data, or data from mage's divinations, or the military.

the dwarf is sort of an odd ball- he was traveling with some merchants/ travelers when they stumbled on some carnage by the road- perhaps a small farmstead attacked. give this one the oddest but perhaps most prevailing piece of evidence, since he'll be an outsider in all of this. (such as a weakness? or saying some location?)

THEN, when all have said their stuff, and may or may not have contributed, the leader of this place/ council concludes that this is too little information. more is needed, and he seeks those that would go get it. he suggests (or others suggests, allow the party to also suggest themselves) that the ones who have spoken and EVIDENTLY have some talents, will serve the country. then either by one of the clues given by the party, or by his own account, he denotes a location, and voila! first adventure.

i hope this helped,
Kol.

[Blacky the Blackball]

Simple answer:

Tell them they're starting in a particular place or situation (it doesn't have to be something overly dramatic - a village on the edge of the affected area or something is fine).

Then ask them to tell you why their character is there.

That way you don't railroad them into a situation they might not be happy with ("What do you mean my character is there to beg for assistance! My character would never do that!") and you don't have to come up with five different reasons. They just have to come up with one reason each.

[Belril Duskwalk]

Simple answer:

Tell them they're starting in a particular place or situation (it doesn't have to be something overly dramatic - a village on the edge of the affected area or something is fine).

Then ask them to tell you why their character is there.

That way you don't railroad them into a situation they might not be happy with ("What do you mean my character is there to beg for assistance! My character would never do that!") and you don't have to come up with five different reasons. They just have to come up with one reason each.

I've always been a fan of this start-up strategy. So have both DMs I have played with. The PCs are the players responsibility. You give them a location and tell them 'I need your character to have a reason to be here on this day' and they'll find you one, because they want to play and the DM has told them that's where they need to be in order to play. They know how their character's think, they will know how their characters might come to be at that place, even if they just happen to be passing through on their way to another town.

[eulmanis12]

The elf, the dwarf, and the paladin are recruited, possibly off camera, by general x as part of a larger force moving in to stop the undead. The force is caught in an ambush and slaughtered, While the Elf, dwarf, and Paladin help the few survivors escape into the woods, the barbarian, who was camping along the trail hears the sounds of the fighting and rushes to their aid. Together they drive off the remaining undead, and proceed to the nearest town to plan their next move. They find the town under attack, with the Pyromancer leading the defense.

The Begining...

[Lord Noble]

all right guys i have got it down and have decided im using a mix of a couple of these ideas you guys are brilliant i cant believe i didn't think about the idea of the players coming up with why they were there!!!!! and im also using the part about Storrt of course i asked him first. and the general idea will work because he's there commander and chief so thank you guys so much!!!!!!!!!!!!