Where to Begin: C&C Tricks of the Trade #47...

[Deil the Yin]

Salutations, M'Lords...

Castles&Crusades is hands-down my preferred fantasy system. I haven't heard anyone mention any of their social media projects other than KS's, but I've been following this one from Stephen Chenault. It's been on my mind to start posting them here, and finally this one really got my creative juices pumping as I have three different campaigns in the works, and the kick-off session scenario has been the first big hurdle.

Look forward to hearing what all yall think, and/or how yall approach this subject matter...

Cheers,
Wesley

"This is the 47th in our ongoing tips and tricks for GMs. Periodically we will send out these little nuggets written by Master GM Stephen Chenault.
Being a GM, DM, or CK is a tricky business. You must be able to think on the fly, keep people engaged and lead them down the path to adventure. Bogged down in the minutiae? Stuck in a dungeon? It's important to lead the players to the best game they can have. That's why our CEO and founder, Stephen Chenault -- a gamer for over 40 years and CK that can keep a game of 20 plus moving smoothly -- has put together another 5 gems guaranteed to give you your best game.

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Starting a new game is one of my favorite things to do. I love beginning a game with 1st level characters and plunging off on the road to the unknown. There is very little decided up front, no baggage, no contention yet between players or between GM and player... nothing but an open, unexplored road in front of you. Creating a starting point for these games is always fun as well. There is an ubiquitous tavern, where so many campaigns begin. "You are sitting at a table nursing your mead, when..." We’ve all done that a few times plus many, but there are others that can be just as versatile and fun. Here are a few of my favorites.

Don't use these to replace game prep or doing whatever adventure you had planned. These are just simply ways to start a game.

#1: On the Road. Probably the approach I use the most is "On the Road", especially at conventions. I love to begin an adventure with "You've been traveling for two days..." Then proceed to describe the terrain, season, time of day and why they are there. All these are done in rapid succession, with out too much belaboring the point. The point of the adventure can be any number of things from going to grandma's house to deliver her some cake, to unearthing an artifact in a dungeon. But the adventure itself begins on the road. Nine out of ten times I begin this with water involved. It's raining, making the road slick and visibility poor. Or it's snowing, to the same effect. Or my favorite, crossing the river, either over a bridge with swollen waters or through the river with no waters. All these excite a bunch of attribute checks from the players and usually a fair bit of brain storming, getting the game off with heavy player involvement.

#2: Sole Survivors. The players are the sole survivors of some type of catastrophe. The town they have been living in has been sacked, the caravan they are with has been hit by bandits, an army they served in was defeated and scattered (that one is my favorite of these, very easy to describe), the captain of their patrol is slain, and so on and so on. It's a beginning born in battle that you don't actually play through, you just describe what happened and how this misfit group survived by falling back across the river, into the brush or what have you. Whatever the case, the characters are the sole survivors and must not fight/find their way out of the area and to safety. At this point, anything is possible. They can travel for an hour and stumble on a dungeon entrance and begin exploring it, they can find an artifact on the road, etc. Basically you are using this to launch whatever adventure you have planned.

Note: Try not to describe the characters has having been defeated, fleeing, or running scared. Very few people want to start a game with their characters running away. Better to say something like "In the aftermath of the chaos of the battle, you find yourselves alone, the five of you, gathered on the far bank of the river." It begins the game on a positive note.

#3: Falling Into It. This one is exactly as it reads. One of the characters just falls into a dungeon. It can be very literal or not so literal. They may be walking down an alley/road and the ground gives way beneath them. Suddenly, they find themselves in an ancient tunnel. It's time to get some companions together and explore. They may find it while moving boxes for an employer, or searching an old abandoned temple or for somewhere to be in the quiet. Whatever it is, play begins with one or more of them stumbling on the entrance of a dungeon. It can be in a town or on the road, it doesn't matter. "Walking down the path, it gives way, you slide 20 feet down a slope and slam hard into an old wooden door. The door gives way..." The adventure begins.

#4: Action. Begin the game in the middle of a battle. You don’t worry about scene or setting or why the characters are there. That will come after the fracas. The key is to start the game immediately with some type of action. "The elf is in front; you hear the distinctive sound of a bow bending. What do you do?" They have a hot second to react and then the arrow flies, or the monster leaps from the brush, or swoops down from above. This launches everyone into the game and quickly reveals who or what is at the table. If you go this route, be prepared for some rapid-fire questions such as "Do we know each other" or "Have we fought together before?" Make sure you have some responses ready, whatever those may be, however they fit into your planned adventure. The nice thing about this approach is that it quickly reveals how players react and how they are likely to react in the future, so you can plan accordingly. As a side note, the encounter should be a little one-sided in favor of the characters. You don't really want to begin a game with a character death before play even begins.

#5: Hearth & Home. I don't think this this used very often, and I've only used it a few times. Essentially the characters are at home in their town or village and the adventure is delivered to them, either through another character or a third party. A visit to their home, introduction to parents, siblings, aunts or whatever as one tries to convince another to go on such and such a journey. It's a good way to ground a game in character development as it allows the characters to create a home-life background on the fly, which of course helps set the tone of the character and give the player more to build off of later. It's a nice, calm, simple and probably very realistic way to begin an adventure. It's really what happened to Bilbo, or Bambalo as some call him, after all.


Do you have a question for Steve? Comment? Shoot him an email at troll@trolllord.com and we'll get you an answer and it might just appear in an upcoming episode!"

[Ancalagon]

Good idea for a thread, Lord Walker! Never hurts to hear ideas from other DM/GM/CK/whatevers for handling games.

This tidbit in particular caught my attention:

"This is the 47th in our ongoing tips and tricks for GMs. Periodically we will send out these little nuggets written by Master GM Stephen Chenault. Being a GM, DM, or CK is a tricky business. You must be able to think on the fly, keep people engaged and lead them down the path to adventure. Bogged down in the minutiae? Stuck in a dungeon? It's important to lead the players to the best game they can have. That's why our CEO and founder, Stephen Chenault -- a gamer for over 40 years and CK that can keep a game of 20 plus moving smoothly -- has put together another 5 gems guaranteed to give you your best game."

Being able to think on the fly is very important otherwise you're reading from a script. Even small details like what is offered for dinner in the inn tonight or what is so-and-so's name or specific personality traits to make an NPC more memorable might require thinking on the fly.

Leading players down the path to adventure... I'm not a big fan of this notion. As a DM, I'll put out adventure idea(s) and its up to players to find a way for their characters to be involved. If adventurers don't want to go adventuring then they're welcome to stay on the farm and boil cabbage.

Leading players to the best game they can have... As a DM, I don't lead players. I present a scenario. The players make their own decisions about where they go and, based on their decisions, with a bit of luck thrown in (dice), the game unfolds.

Keep the posts coming for this topic!

[Deil the Yin]

Much obliged, Lord Gill. Roger that, wilco...

Good idea for a thread, Lord Walker! ...
Keep the posts coming for this topic!