#### 30+ CAMPAIGN STARTERS ####
* A quick set of starting adventures for when "meeting in a tavern" doesn't
cut it *
Author: Willow Willis
Re-publication date: 2022
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A new campaign starts, and it's time to form a cohesive adventuring party from
a group of complete strangers. If coordinating with the players to create some
sort of shared background is undesirable or impossible, it is up to the GM to
put them in circumstances that demand cooperation. The trope of The Tavern and
the Mysterious Stranger is standard fare by now; most experienced players have
encountered this at least once, and most new players have at least heard of it.
While meeting in a tavern is not necessarily bad, there are tons of other ways
to throw a more or less random group of people together for an adventure.
Here are a few suggestions, some gleaned from various message boards, some are
my own ideas. Several of these require GM fiat, but I tried to focus on
scenarios which can be played by characters of any background. I'm sure you've
seen (or played!) some of these before, so if you have any other ideas to help
expand this list please feel free to do so. How you keep a group together after
the first adventure is, of course, up to you, but many of these plots will
provide the characters with either a common enemy or a common goal that you can
build off.
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1. Pirates! -- The characters are all passengers aboard an ocean liner when
the ship is attacked by pirates. If they fail to repel the attack, they are
captured and stowed in the holds of the pirate ship, locked in manacles. Do
they try to escape and claim the ship as their own? Or do they wait to see
where their captors are taking them?
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2. Caravan Guards -- PCs are hired individually to serve as caravan guards for
a trip (though some alternatively might be paying passengers). The caravan is
attacked en route to its destination.
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3. Prison Break -- PCs are captured individually and brought to a common
dungeon. The reasons vary -- perhaps they were all found to be in violation of
the city's stringent weapons laws, or were practicing magic without belonging
to a guild. Perhaps all of their names were scrawled on an incriminating note
that was found on a dead body. Maybe their names are all the interrogators
could get from the Evil Cultist that the authorities have locked in the
dungeon. Or perhaps no reason is given at all *evil laugh*. Regardless, they
must use each other's strengths to escape
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4. Parole -- PCs are captured individually or in pre-existing subgroups and
are put in prison (see Prison Break for reasons), and either can't escape or
are not offered the chance. The King offers them all parole in exchange for
services rendered.
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5. Time Skip -- Players are all children growing up in the same village. Time
skip 10 years forward and they are all meeting back up in the village.
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6. Three Hour Tour -- Players are all passengers on a frigate that is
shipwrecked. They must work together to survive until help arrives, or until
they have devised some means of escape (the island shouldn't be too far off
shore)
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7. The Chosen One(s) -- Players are approached by members of an influential
faith, and their presence is "requested" at the temple. The players share
certain qualities that mark them as potential "chosen ones" for an ancient
prophecy, but the church cannot decide which one of them it may be. The players
must undergo a group test/quest etc to determine which of them (if any) is the
true Child of Prophecy.
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8. Draftees -- A horde of hobgoblins is descending on the land, and the King
has drafted every capable man (and woman) of the kingdom to meet the new
threat. The PCs are placed together in a squad with an NPC commander who dies
minutes after they enter the field.
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9. Slave Uprising -- The players are all slaves in transit to their new
master's complex. One (or several) of them see an opportunity to escape, and
they must work together to make good on it.
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10. Royal Ball -- The PCs are all of noble blood and of marriageable age. They
meet at the coronation ball of the new prince, where they are expected to greet
other young nobles and make connections (either future business or marriage
prospects). During the ball, armed radicals attack.
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11. Waylaid by Weather -- The skies open and drench each PC as he/she travels
the road to Harlandale for various reasons. They all take shelter in the same
abandoned stone monastery at the side of the road (the only shelter around for
several miles' journey). The monastery may or may not be haunted.
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12. Friendly Competition -- The players are all competitors in some sort of
contest (perhaps a tournament put on by the King). Regardless of their
performance, an NPC tops them in the standings, but the crowd suspects that he
is cheating.
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13. 28 Days Later -- The players are in the town of Faraway when a deadly
plague hits, and they spend several miserable days (weeks?) in a delirious
fever. When they come back to their senses, they find that they are the only
survivors. They now all have a mutual immunity to the deadly plague.
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14. Corporate Summit -- The PCs are all representatives of different guilds
that are coming together to negotiate a contract. During the meeting they are
attacked by a rogue guild (or anarchist party) who does not want the
negotiations to be successful.
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15. Field Work -- The PCs are all students at a university. They are called
together by a mutual professor who wants to do some field work and needs some
extra hands. Whether the professor survives the mission or not is up to the GM.
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16. University Mishap -- After years of adventuring school, the PCs have all
finally graduated. While attending a graduation party put on by a mutual
acquaintance, the PCs play a drunken prank (described in hilarious detail by
the GM) on another NPC student (the self-important, whiny, cowardly rich boy
who has insulted each of the PCs at one point or another during their college
careers). Unfortunately, the NPC is extremely well-connected. After a short
trial, they are convicted and offered either prison or banishment.
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17. Mining Operation -- After several months/years of hard labor in the mines
of a repressive King, the sentences of the various PCs have been fulfilled and
they are being released on the same day. With parting shots and/or whippings,
of course.
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18. The Odd Family -- PCs meet at an extended family reunion, and are perhaps
members of various important branches within the family. When a mutual VIP
relative is killed under suspicious circumstances at the party, the PCs are
chosen by their respective houses to investigate and uphold the family honor.
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19. Living Golems -- A powerful wizard had lived in comfort by enchanting many
slaves, of which the PCs are several. When he dies unexpectedly, the PCs "wake"
from their enchantment in the middle of the wizard's tower, with almost no
recollection of their arrival their or of their service to the wizard except
nightmares which they all share. See Escape From the Tower for more.
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20. Hazing Ritual -- The characters are all prospective members of a group
(university, cult, explorer's guild, etc). Part of the hazing ritual to
determine who is worthy involves dropping all the prospectives (NPCs included)
into a labyrinth/dungeon and seeing who makes it out alive. PCs get the
opportunity to see several NPCs offed in various gruesome ways before meeting,
to underline the idea that their best chance of survival lies with each other.
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21. Mighty MacGuffin -- A legendary MacGuffin has been found by some field
researchers, and it must be brought back to the King. Various powers
(religious, royal, guild, etc) are interested in the success of this mission,
and send the PCs along as representatives to make sure the job gets done. It
would be a shame if an outside party managed to pilfer the MacGuffin before
they arrived . . .
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22. Dawn of the Dead -- Zombies are attacking the village and the temple (or
tavern) is the only safe place to be. They must last out the night as the
zombies close in around them.
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23. Mini Mayhem -- An insane wizard is experimenting with the effects of
extreme miniaturization, and the characters are his subjects. They wake to find
themselves in an eerily empty town, where everything is constructed of strange
materials. At some point, the wizard will reach down into the model town and
pick one of them up for closer examination, and they realize that they have
been shrunken down to about a hand-height. Escaping will require the ingenuity
and cooperation of all.
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24. Divine Interference -- A minor deity of mischief (or perhaps a lesser
demon/imp) is bored, and has decided to toy with a group of more-or-less random
mortals. The could be teleported to a common location (perhaps while some of
them are engaged in. . . private business), or each handed a note (seemingly
from someone that the PC knows and would trust) that tells them to meet at a
specified place a few days hence.
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25. Revolutionary Task Force -- The oppressive government of the Land of
Faraway is opposed by the popular Revolutionary Front, to which the PCs all
belong. Obeying some subtle signal (perhaps the wording on a poster advertising
the upcoming gladiator matches), they all meet at a secret cell outside of the
city. There, one of the leaders of the revolution forges a task force (which
naturally includes the PCs, and perhaps one or two NPCs that can die
mid-operation) to infiltrate an important government building and recover
intelligence regarding troop movements.
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26. Scouts for the Penal Colony -- The PCs are all founding members of a new
penal colony, established on the outskirts of civilization. They are chosen by
random lot to go on an extended scouting mission through the unknown, looking
for likely farming areas, potential mining sites and unforeseen hazards.
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27. A Series of Tubes -- The PCs are all visitors to Panera City during a coup
by the Baron's military tactician. In order to prevent tidings of his illegal
usurpation of power to reach neighboring cities (and thus come to the attention
of the King prematurely), the new Overlord is sweeping the city, arresting any
foreigners they find and killing all those who resist. Each PC has been warned
of the coming guard by sympathetic locals and has had time to flee into the
sewers, where he/she will undoubtedly meet other political refugees.
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28. Trine -- The characters have all been exposed to an ancient artifact that
has the unwanted effect of binding their souls together. The players must find
a way to undo the curse. In the meantime, the PCs cannot travel further than
100 ft from any other member of the group. Furthermore, a character's death
will weaken the collective soul significantly (if the party was 3 members, the
power/health of the remaining two party members is reduced by 1/3). However, if
the remaining party members survive the encounter, they can revive the fallen
member with a lengthy ritual. All remaining members must participate for it to
work.
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29. Guilty Until Proven Innocent -- The PCs all happen to be in the
marketplace when a man falls from the second story window of the tavern with a
knife in his back. As the people closest to the scene of the crime, the PCs are
dragged in front of the local magistrate as suspects of murder. They are
probably not imprisoned, but may want to help with the investigation to help
clear their names.
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30. Misidentified Mishap -- The characters may or may not be seasoned bounty
hunters, but none of them can resist the (ridiculously) large reward offered
for the capture (not the death) of a famous outlaw. Trouble is, no one knows
exactly what he looks like. While rumor-hunting in the local city, each PC is
given a list of physical characteristics to look for -- characteristics that
vaguely matches the description of a different PC! For example: "He's a tall
man in a red coat with blonde hair". If the GM is really good, one or two of
the traits should match several of the other PCs. If the intended party is
mixed gender, make sure that the villain's name is ambiguous (e.g. The Viper),
and have some of the clues point to a man, and some to a woman. Set the PCs
loose in the last known location of the outlaw (the one point on which all the
rumors agree) and see if they can recognize their mistake before things get out
of hand.
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31. Voyager -- The party is comprised of prisoners of war, dangerous convicts
and political prisoners, all sentenced to exile from Her Magesty's kingdom.
Having recently come into possession of Telportia, a fortress of tremendous
strategic importance, Her Grace has decreed that all exiles be sent through one
of the unexplored portals. If the party returns successfully from wherever the
portal leads, they will be given amnesty and rich rewards (enough to motivate
those who have no other ties to the place). To aid them, they are given a
"homing" compass of some sorts and a few provisions. Could start an epic
travelling campaign -- a journey through exotic lands and legendary locales --
with the goal of returning home.
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32. Set in Stone -- The characters are all victims of fate, turned to stone by
a wayward spell in a crowded market place. They are reanimated several hundred
years later, and find that the world they knew is gone. They must band together
to survive in their new environment (political, natural, or otherwise).
Alternatively, they could all be the victims of a common enemy, or perhaps they
triggered a trap on their very first adventure (a feint on the GM's part).
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33. Extraterrestrial Lab Rats -- Each PC has been abducted by aliens in the
recent past, waking up to find him or herself irrevocably changed in some
manner. Now news reports are coming in about others who have suffered the same
fate. Will the character seek out the fellow victims, or will the government
round them all up for an experiment of its own?
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34. The Enemy of My Enemy -- The city has lately borne witness to a spree of
vicious murders. While drunk with his own success, the serial killer has gotten
a bit cocky and left a list of his intended future victims at the scene of the
last crime. Each of the characters' names appear on that list, and the
authorities bring them in for questioning (and possibly protection). If the GM
can set it up so that a common contact or friend of the PCs has also recently
been murdered, so much the better.
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35. Lottery of Doom -- Each year the kingdom holds a lottery to choose victims
for an unfortunate faith. This could be anything from being sacrificed to a
rampaging dragon, venerated as idols in the national religion (to be sacrificed
bloodily at the end of the year), to being selected for a series of deadly
games to entertain the populace. Needless to say, the party members are this
year's lucky winners!
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36. Evil Has Trimphed -- The evil cultists have won! All of the party members
have been sacrificed to the cults' Dark God, and have been reanimated as
super-intelligent undead servants. While they still have limited free will,
each PC will be compelled to do the cultists' will unless they find a way to
break the effective geas.
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37. Transporter Accident -- Through some technical glitch, all party members
have been phased mostly out of existence. They can speak to and touch each
other, but everything else is immaterial to them. They can walk through walls,
etc, but can't eat/drink anything they weren't already carrying. No one else
can see them and they are all presumed dead. If they can't find a way to become
solid again, they will die of thirst within a few days. Could be done in a
fantasy setting, just make it a wizard's experiment gone bezerk, zapping
passersby out of the material plane.
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