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GameMastery Guide / Player Characters / The Life of a Party / Gathering A Group

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Source GameMastery Guide pg. 64
Few things energize a new gaming group more than sitting down for their first adventure and immediately being told, “Roll initiative!” Novels rarely begin at the most boring part of the story, and neither should adventures. Starting the party in the midst of an ambush on their caravan, fighting a fire at their inn, imprisoned in a dungeon, or hearing screams from down the hall begins the adventure immediately. The characters might already be aware of each other, but it’s their reactions to the event facing them that initially draws them together, giving the GM a starting point from which to weave a lasting connection.

As stirring as this method can be, it risks taking a measure of character control out of the players’ hands, as it assumes prior actions, and can be especially frustrating if a player doesn’t believe her character would be involved in the situation presented. Thus, it’s often helpful for the GM to include the players in a measure of the setup, perhaps asking each member to come up with a reason for why his character might be in a specific place or be interested in some event. They don’t need to know how the GM plans to start things off, but they’ll already know why they’re around when the excitement begins.

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