Throwing Together the Perfect Party

So you've made you plans. Your players have their characters, their first adventure sits behind a screen, out of view, and you're sure that it's going to be exciting, grabbing their attention from the first die roll to the action-packed climax. You're ready for anything, no plan so wild that you can't ad-lib around it. As everyone settles in the question comes: "So, how did all our characters meet anyway?"

Giving a group of players a good reason to work together is an important step towards making them think as a team, and ensuring the long-term health of the game. Each setting, party, and initial adventure may suggest a different starting point, but first, make sure that your players understand that you intend for them to work as a team. With player co-operation, any strategy to bring the people together will work, but without, disaster is sure to happen. Now that the players are on board, let's take a look at the possibilities.

You're Drinking at the Bar When...

The oldest and perhaps most cliched of all the party gathering strategies is that of the friends at the bar when adventure is thrust upon them. However, it didn't get that way without being effective. If the party is from the same town and knows each other from before, they've got a nice solid reason to work together. It's also simple enough to lay it down, and get on with the game and plot without having to worry about backstory.

One of the problems is that it discourages backstory, which often hurts the player's association with the character. Granted, your players can create a collective backstory, and it does open up the possibility of a prequel adventure, but the lack of flexibility limits the creativity of players regarding their character's past. If you as Game Master put a limit on their ideas from the start, they may be reluctant to offer input later.

It also has problems in a fantasy setting if the characters are widely different, for example, why would a half-orc and an elf be living in the same city? This problem goes away somewhat in the future setting as school, work, and the internet can throw strange people together, but even then, there's a question in the air if the gothic punk is hanging with the uptight preppie.

Still, for a one-shot adventure, a hack-and-slash campaign, or if your players are gnashing at the bit to get on with it, it's useful to have in your repertoire. But at least take into account that it doesn't have to be an inn.

In Media Res

Right. Ready? The alarm sounds in the town's main tower. Goblins are attacking. Welcome to the hero business.

There's something special about a good fight in an RPG, so how about starting off with one. It's a bit strange to start off rolling the dice, admittedly, but it quickly gets the players involved, and the adrenaline flowing. That shiny new character they just rolled up has their life at stake, after all. The players are forced to come up with a combat leader and strategy quickly, find their place and begin to form a fighting team. The non-team players will show themselves too, and you can deal with it early.

However, if there's a lot of infighting, the game could die from the start. And while finding out the cause of the attack might provide a good first mission, it's not an especially strong reason for the party to band together. The other problem is gauging that first attack. Nothing turns someone off a game like dying in the first five minutes. Except possibly, for political or romance loving players, one with a fight every five minutes. And your campaign is more than that, right?

Get going, get the blood pumping, get the player's excited, there are some good benefits for starting in the middle of things. Just make sure that your little war does make strange bedfellows.

I've Got a Job for You

The focus of many a movie is the pulling together of a group of people to pull off a job that would be impossible for anyone else. It's a good solid way to go, as a central figure, played by the GM can orchestrate that first adventure. It's the party will either gel on its own due to respect for each other's skills, or can be re-hired by the GM for the next 'job', even if the characters dislike each other.

This sort of setup has no problems making the characters form a solid team, but the players have the opportunity for infighting, which may or may not be what the GM is looking for. The set-up requires a certain maturity from the players. It's also cliched, which may elicit a few groans from your players. As well, there is the possibility of it conflicting with the ideas that players might want to base their characters around, specifically ones that rebel against authority or who have non-material goals. And it can be a bit odd in a fantasy setting, or a hack n' slash campaign. However workarounds for all these problems do exist.

However, the tight structure of this set-up has its appeal, as the party has a clear goal that the GM gets to assign, while the party can have individual goals within this framework. This structure may seem limiting, but it's flexible enough to break out of for a while, and yet easy enough to return to.

The collective job offer is a highly useful starting point for a campaign, especially if the setting is modern or is a bit shady. It can be returned to, expanded upon, or moved away from, and with this flexibility and initial structure, it's an excellent one to get a party gelling.

Adventures Wanted for Dangerous Quest

You don't really need to have a person orchestrating the party's first meeting though. A common goal can also serve to bring a party together. A single villain that has managed to offend all the characters or a coveted item can become a nice focal point, while allowing the characters to have different motivations.

However, these different motivations can be a problem, as players may choose to trip over each other rather than work together. However, looking like the Keystone Cops a few times should prove that teamwork will be more effective. This might be a long quest, as characters need to feel each other out, with a lot of repetitive introductions. Starting off with every player seeing things separate from everyone else may also be a problem for some GMs.

A benefit is in the sheer flexibility: the ability to personalize motivations for the first quest for each player. Granted, this option requires more work, but it gets each player involved with their own character's history. This makes more interesting characters all around, and a richer group. Another benefit is the realism. Groups may join together for many reasons, and this approach to the first adventure allows players to choose from the widest range of character motivations.

Having a single target with multiple motivations is one of the most difficult introductions to set up. If you're will to put in the work, though, it has a considerable payoff.

Other Ideas

These are only a few of the possibilities. A group that's already friends, a player playing the first adventure's villain, a hostile area that the characters are simply dropped into, an alternate dimension where the players play themselves as characters, or anything else you can think of. Don't limit your ideas when bringing your party together, and impress your players from the first adventure.