Five Ways to Start a D&D Adventure - Dungeon Master Tips

MONSTERS OF DRAKKENHEIM is 300+ pages of eldritch horror inspired monsters for 5e by the Dungeon Dudes! Coming to Kickstarter March 26th, 2024: www.kickstarter.com/projects/... Adventure awaits! The Dungeon Dudes discuss five narrative ideas Dungeon Masters can use to start a Dungeons and Dragons adventure.
We look at the most common archetypes used in published modules, fantasy fiction, and films, and along the way we’ll brainstorm a few new twists to keep the classics fresh! Whether you are starting a brand-new campaign, or just setting your player characters up for their next quest, get inspired for your next great journey!
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[@DungeonDudes]

Tell us about the awesome ways you’ve started your adventures or campaigns!

[@bibbobella]

Two of my PC's were both captured by slavedealers and were being transported in a ship towards some buyers. Ended up revolting against their captures but thanks to bad planning and some even worse luck they ended up getting thrown overboard and started with absolutely nothing despite some simple clothing. Took them untill level 3 before they finally got some decent equipment

[@d-risky4994]

Tavern. Except this tavern was a drug and magic infused shared illusion. They were all strangers in a strange tavern and the local npc’s were chatting them up about their life (opportunity to tell their backstories) Then I picked something from their backgrounds and I had the npc’s push it in conversation with psychotic friendliness gradually until it makes them uncomfortable... That’s when they typically try to leave, which leads them back through the front door and everyone turns and looks and celebrates their return And I drop more and more hints that it’s an illusion until they break out of it and wake up in a rusty old jail cell That’s right! I rolled the tavern trope and the prison break into the same opening! Haha

[@marsstrider3705]

My PC's were imprisoned by forces loyal to the Invincible Overlord. Then, without explanation, they were taken out of their cells and pushed across the threshold of a large door. They were told if they wanted to live they had to go forward. My mini dungeon had 3 rooms: 1st had 2 skeletons and a zombie, 2nd room had 3 orcs, and the last room had a werewolf. They did well in the first room, but the Barbarian charged headlong into the second room were he got destroyed by the orcs. I decided the Cleric's Deity wasn't finished with them, so Sarenrae turned back time and gave the Barbarian and the Cleric a Rogue and a Sorcerer(This was my first time running). They beat the orcs. When they fought the Werewolf, the Sorcerer spammed Daze which won the encounter for the party since the Werewolf always lost his turn. The party then received their mission from the Overlord. The Cleric ordered the party to skin the Werewolf wanting Werewolf hide armor.

[@_bats_]

Our recent campaign started with the PC's, who were all from kind of a standard collection of fantasy city-states called the Eastern Kingdoms (remnants of the once great Ambroxian Empire), finding themselves traveling together westward to a place called The Cauldron, which is sort of a fantasy gothic horror wild west type place. The only way in is through a failing copper mine called The Blinding Dark, and our characters all (independently) paid the dwarf clan that still runs the place to take us on the three-day trek under the mountains to The Cauldron. We were attacked by troglodytes and myconids along the way, many of the NPCs were killed, and we fought side by side with the dwarves to beat back a myconid horde that threatened to overwhelm their garrison at the Cauldron end of the mine tunnels, which built a lot of trust between us that forged us into a party as we ventured down into The Cauldron itself.

[@sublimetech]

Playing shadowrun, all the players are new. The characters are contracted to kidnap a scientist from the 55th floor. They broke into the labs, but set of the alarms and security will be here soon. This is where the campaign starts.

[@HiopX]

Getting to a village, getting hailed as the chosen ones, accept their quest, find out you're the third group this month

[@markfarnsworth3340]

Hahahah I love it. Definitely using this in my next campaign!

[@WolfHreda]

"Surely, THIS time we have found the prophesied heroes who will deliver us from our plight." "You said that last week with the other group, Thom." "Shut up!"

[@markhunter3533]

Wonderful!

[@aragorn1780]

So Pokemon the movie 2000 😂😂😂😂😂

[@WolfHreda]

@@aragorn1780 how dare you bring up one of the most traumatic movies of my childhood?! 🤣😭

[@dashyburd]

"Hey! You're finally awake!"

[@Sophia-vk5bq]

"There you go. You were dreaming, what's your name?"

[@danny_decheeto8300]

Think I had one to many last night my Nordic friend. Where are we going?

[@donniejefferson9554]

I'm planning on running an elder scrolls based game and I'm genuinely thinking about starting with that

[@bye1551]

@@donniejefferson9554 you should!!!

[@CidGuerreiro1234]

@@donniejefferson9554 Please tell me you did that.

[@pauljacobs435]

You guys just cured the worst case of writers block I’ve had in an age. 🙂

[@spambaconeggspamspam]

Use the chosen one as a red herring. Kill the chosen one or destroy the mcguffin and turn it all upside down.

[@tigert2092]

Like “The Guy” from Spy Kids?

[@ericm3327]

I was just going to say, I like having the players meet the chosen one and making them fail to save them and see what they do.

[@marcobering3945]

Typically being the chosen one means you are the one that saves the world/day. I prefer to reverse the order. The one that saves the day is revealed to have been the chosen one, or is appointed to the status as a reward for their success. It also works best when the title of chosen one is basically just a title, not a mechanical bonus feat/spell/magic item.

[@kazumablackwing4270]

Could also go the route of "A Bard's Tale", where anyone who had previously been bestowed with the title of chosen one ended up meeting some unfortunate, often grisly fate, making the title seem more like a curse than a boon

[@JB-xl2jc]

Have your characters meet in a town that’s abuzz with rumors of a great hero that is there to act against the ills facing the town, and then have that hero appear and look incredibly impressive, and then die in a humiliating and horrific manner. Certainly sets the stage.

[@kappakiev9672]

My favorite way to start an adventure. “Welcome to the world of Pokémon. My name is Professor Oak: the Pokémon Professor.”

[@skycastrum5803]

Are you a boy, or a girl?

[@Lucy5456b]

I am a boirl

[@yamatohekatsue9143]

Blah blah charmander plz ty

[@kyleoakley7708]

I like having small one shots with each player to work out their backstories and to allow them to get used to the new character (usually new players or homebrew classes) and explain why they are in this small hamlet or town. Then the actually start of the campaign will be in combat as the town is being sacked by goblins or orcs and meet up with each other as they continue on. Its usually a fun shock to the players if the first words out of the DM's mouth is "Roll initiative"

[@DungeonDudes]

This is a lot of work to pull off well, but it really adds a lot of detail and dynamics to the campaign!

[@lplympton]

This is the idea that made coming to the comments section worth it.

[@lplympton]

I'm thinking of making a small combat scenario for each of them where they get mugged or something along those lines, but making the encounter the same for each PC. I'll let the players discover on their own (or not) that they all got mugged by the same dude in the same way. Glitch in the matrix, haha I also like this because this is my first time DMing and this will let each player and I get comfortable interacting with each other in our new DM-player relationship without the influence of the other party members.

[@GhostlyNomad130]

This is exactly what I did. Gave them a Small village, flushed it out a full session and a bit of our 2nd session, Village was Invaded while they set up camp a ways outside of town to rest. They Woke up to a Horde of Undead and the Burned Down Village with slaughtered villagers. One of my Player Characters was from that town.... That was just the prelude. They then were selected to take place in a trial by the God of Chaos Kazaron (Homebrew Deity)

[@Arohan71]

There's one more way I want to start a campaign: Graduation. You and the characters are all apprentices to a former adventuring party who you, for one reason or another, sought out to train you in your class skills. Maybe your group's fighter trained under the captain of the guard who used to be a former adventuring party leader and sell sword, maybe your rogue trained under a reformed thief who now works with his old fighter friend from their adventuring days to test the guard and keep them on their toes etc. Now your apprenticeship is over and the mentors are kicking you out of the nest with one final test before they let you out into the world fully on your own. You all already know each other, at least by reputation and have to contend, for good or ill, with the prejudices, hang ups and legacies of your mentors.

[@DungeonDudes]

I love this idea! It's a great example of how you can really make the "mission briefing" into something that feels completely different by changing the relationships between the players and their "patron" and creating a specific context for the mission as "the final test" instead. Awesome way to kick off a campaign!

[@Arohan71]

This mostly spawned out of a way to try two mechanics I heard about to encourage RP. The first was 3 rumors. Each of the players makes up 3 rumors about their characters 2 lies and one truth or 2 truths and one lie and these are the things the other players know about them. The other idea was secret missions. You all have a group goal but each one of your mentors has set you a specific task as well for their own ends or maybe the players have a special goal to achieve themselves. The rogue might have to find a way to steal something important without the party knowing. Maybe the bard is trying to win someone's affections or find an instrument his mentor lost during their own adventure.

[@toprak3479]

Naruto starts off like this by the way

[@TriMarkC]

John Harrison Definitely going to use your & @AaronRadney’s ideas! I used to run a simplified game for our kids when they were little. They all just graduated college, & 1 married too. We’ve talked about running a one-shot this Christmas to include my wife & our new son-in-law. I can easily use your ideas: “You’ve all just completed years of training in your specialty, under some of the best guild members in the lands. Who all also happen to be former adventuring partners with your parents. And you’ve heard ALL the stories (!!) - “The XYZs saved the Queen”, & “(Fighter) held the marauders at the gate until blah blah blah”, “(Thief) snuck past dozens of guards to steal the key...& nabbed the guards’ coins to boot!” While possibly true, really? They’re ...old!” Anyway, I like where this can go! Thanks!!

[@gordonexperience4859]

This is also a good way to start games that are around levels 5 or 6, since level 1-4 characters are still amateurs in training

[@daxdleader719]

"There was an idea...to bring together a group of remarkable people"

[@philipkhan7715]

To fight the battles we could not

[@thatlonewolfguy2878]

This would be a blend of "disaster strikes", "call to adventure" and "the mission briefing"

[@WinterPains]

"But we got you instead."

[@WillTBear1]

"The world is calling out for the greatest of heroes to rise against the coming storm. To pull the world from the brink of despair and bring balance back to the material plane. This... ...is not our story..."

[@jslearner]

5 Ways to Start a D&D Adventure ------------------------------- 2:56 Trouble on the Road 8:22 Disaster Strikes 14:00 Call to Adventure 17:40 The Mission Briefing 20:00 The Great Escape

[@TabooX1984]

Awesome! Thanks! 👍👍👍

[@blizz3975]

I like starting in a "Star Wars" style. It was advised by my friend (who also came up with the name of this style). Basically the team starts up in a turmoil. They are not in tavern or some other cosy place, but already on the quest (small one which leads to biggers) and in the middle of action. Examples: 1. They are defending outpost from orc raid, and the main gate has just collapsed... 2. They are in the middle of horse chase, escaping from law enforcers after successful heist... 3. They are piloting cargo spaceship and have just jumped out of hyperspace into a battle between galactic empire and the rebels... But I see you have already covered that one :)

[@blizz3975]

My favourite so far was: Players are in the tavern and they have just ordered a beer. Then suddenly an earthquake followed by a big chasm which splits the tavern in two, distancing players from the barmaid and the beer. Chasm hasn't split only the tavern. It split the whole city. And a strange blue light comes out of it...

[@twilightgardenspresentatio6384]

i started one campaign on that star destroyer as it crashed into the death star and the players met as stormtroopers escaping safely to the moon surface together and making a new life without the empire

[@Lionrhod212]

The technical term for this is "en medias res," Latin for, "in the middle of things." In previous centuries, stories usually began with laborious description of the place or time or whatever. "It was the best of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness...." (Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens) or "It was a dark and stormy night" (Bulwer Lytton of the now infamous yearly bad writing contest.) The novel I finished reading minutes before I watched this post started with the protagonist inside the cage of a large and fairly unhappy tigress, who had rejected her cub. The protagonist, though an empath with special ties to animals, was in danger of having herself eaten by the tigress. While the tigress herself wasn't important to the final plot, it did foreshadow the protagonist's future methods of saving herself and others, as well as creating enough drama to get readers excited. IMO I also think that it's fun to start a campaign in the middle of a similar combat or stressful situation that may showcase some of the PC's abilities, but not have anything to do with the long term campaign.

[@evannibbe9375]

That’s where starting the wizard off with access to the Gate spell can come in handy.

[@thekaxmax]

'in media res' is the name for this technique

[@Eithne21]

Our DM got tired of us spending so much time in taverns and no caring much about the plot, so at the start of the next campaign he opened by "you arrive at your favorite tavern. But it's gone. There's a big hole in the town where the tavern stood." So we went to our second favorite tavern. But it was gone too. And the next. And the next... and our mission (the one we decided was vital for our halfling and dwarves characters) was to find out why the taverns had disappeared... we were pulled in that plot really fast. And thanks for the video, great ideas there!

[@VeritasEtAequitas]

What the hell can you even do in a tavern in D&D? Roll fortitude checks for drinking? Charisma to pick someone up? That's where you typically explain a party forming.

[@witchBoi_Connor]

A daft punk taverns are usually partly inns, too, so you’re likely to sleep there, too.

[@agilemind6241]

@@VeritasEtAequitas you can eat, drink, sleep, pickpocket people, get into a bar fight, start a dance party, have a drinking contest, gamble, play a game within a game, get rumours/gossip from the barkeep, flirt with someone, snoop on people to find out about a secret club, uncover a smuggling/drug ring, or find a secret door into a smuggler's hideout.

[@CidGuerreiro1234]

"Please tell me the brothel is still there!"

[@derekburge5294]

One other thing to be cautious about when running players through a time crunch: be sure to bloody slow things down every so often! It might be fine to start, but if you're basically forcing your PCs to sprint from disaster to disaster, they'll feel railroaded.

[@DungeonDudes]

Absolutely. Players need breaks in the action to plan their next move, engage in downtime activities, and recuperate.

[@mal2ksc]

Downtime is also good for worldbuilding. You can show a lot of your hand just from chatter in a tavern when they pull off the road to stop for a meal and a bath. If the characters want to hire sex workers, let them. It takes very little game time and gives the characters an ego polishing, but it can also open up the opportunity for pillow talk. This time, the information goes both ways. (Also, if the character is kinky, someone now knows that.)

[@Zack-uw4jk]

Pillow talk? If the character is kinky? This comment went off topic lol

[@holographicbunny3297]

Mal-2 KSC I find the second bit to be poor blanket advice. While I’ve certainly been a part of some groups who had that KOTD mentality in my youth, the group I’m running for now is female majority (3-2) and near half LGBTQ (2-3.) I am near positive that not discouraging that “Haha! Bar wenches for everyone!” mentality in my one player who is prone to it would cause several of my other players to be a great deal more uncomfortable, perhaps to the point of leaving the group.

[@elbruces]

YMMV

[@erichhesse6853]

In one of the campaigns I am running, I had a village that happened to have a natural disaster hit it during a thunderstorm. Lightning hit the inn and spread to the forge and to a house next to the forge. The players swooped in to save what they could and help the villagers out. It lead to a really awesome revivication of a baby dwarf by our druid (prayed HARD to her God (Nat 20 on Religion check)) and the fighter/monk barreling in to the burning house and then the inn and saving someone with only 3 seconds to go before the inn collapsed (I had him on a physical timer on my phone app). he JUST made it. I had everyone in tears with the baby Dwarf and then excited when the Monk saved the woman by jumping with her out of the second story window of the fully engulfed by fire inn. He almost died due to smoke inhalation and we all had an amazing time.

[@arandomzoomer4837]

That's an amazing story. And you used a physical timer? How can you get that to work with a D&D group (maybe it just won't work with mine).

[@santiagokamerbeek5374]

Sir, you're truly evil...

[@heavenseeker2320]

Leche de caballo the answer is to put the timer right in-front of their face.

[@danny_decheeto8300]

Me: steps wrong coming out of the house God: looks like you’re going to the shadow realm jimbo

[@siragon756]

Hey, that's more or less the start of Re:zero

[@CidGuerreiro1234]

I had my previous group all wake up inside coffins that had already been buried. None of the characters knew each other beforehand, but they all had been murdered and unexplainably brought back to life. After crawling out o their coffins (and helping the ones who had failed their Strenght checks), they already had a common objective: to find their killers and the reason they were brought back.

[@NachoBran_CandyCabbage]

I can count on one hand how many games I've played in that didn't start with 'you meet in a tavern', you take a job from the guild', or 'your caravan gets ambushed'. I'm not sure what percentage of people I'm with when I say that I mostly play short campaigns (less than a month) or one shots and the dm usually focuses on the end of the session. What I've seen is that with those scenarios it's more important to establish what the session's goal is more than to hook the players on the world around them. That being said, there is that handful of sessions that didn't start with a cliché that were really tempting to continue beyond what everyone agreed at the start of the game. One of them we did, and it was in the style of that 'one player hires the other players' hook you talked about. One of our players, a half-elf wizard, was a member of the town's local leadership and put out a bounty notice for a evil necromancer who lives in a tower on the outside of town (full of magic traps, minions and puzzles obviously). He decided to tag along with our group after learning not a single one of us knew anything about magic (fighter, rogue, barbarian). After it was revealed that the wizard that hired us was actually the necromancer's former apprentice, we were really invested in the story. We decided to turn the one-shot into a campaign and it lasted 2 or 3 months.

[@BrazenBard]

The party finds "The Sword of the Chosen One" embedded in a stone in the middle of town; the sword is advertised as being used by The Chosen Hero centuries ago to seal a great evil. So when a member of the parry pulls the sword out, the seal is broken, and the evil is released again. Now for the party to find the Chosen Hero of this age. ;)

[@braydendutton1062]

i wrote a campaign that started with the players in cells in the brig of a ship, who’s captain was another player character. the inciting incident was another ship attacking, it was awesome !

[@dizzykincade7831]

Meanwhile, Monty is still modeling for “Lumberjack Monthly.” I’m jealous.

[@stacycecil3527]

My favorite was the "Bastard Children" intro. Each pc receives invite to the home of the as yet unrealized villain. The villain is hunting each for their own reason, and each is invited in way that is of personal interest to them. Once there, the villain reveals some deep personal connection each pc has with one another that they did not previously know. The villain sends them out into the world to some purpose without revealing the evil intent of the action. It's only in the course of the adventure the PC's realize. Best part is, if you want to, you can even allow the PC's to decide at that point to be heros and stop the impending evil or....see it to its fruition. If you choose to give the PCs the decision, you have 2 seperate 'villains' to make. The evil from the beginning, or the heroic who is meant to stop our pc's if they choose to side with the original villain.

[@stacycecil3527]

And never underestimate the 5 or 10 minute individual introduction. Get with each player for a real short intro session where they are introduced to the campaign and given reason to play. Then each runs into each other at a point in time at the first group session. Have the thief masquerading as a merchant wanting to go to a rich shopkeeper's home for a meeting but he's really there to case the joint. At the same time, have the fighter going to offer his services as a guard. Have your cleric going at behest of the shopkeeper to meet with a distraught family member....etc. Then when they all arrive at roughly the same time, introduce an event that makes them work together to get away. The shopkeeper had recently gotten hold of a rare magical item and they arrive as an unknown force is killing the shopkeeper and guards are on the way thinking the pcs were acting together. Now your pcs have to figure out what happened and find the item to clear their names.

[@z0mbiekiller619]

Video came in perfect time for me! I'm starting a new campaign fairly soon and have been wondering how to start one, especially since it'll be my first DM experience.

[@ElectroKinesisMan]

How'd it go?

[@pinkblooky7797]

was it fun lmao

[@z0mbiekiller619]

It went well! Took the campaign to 20+, characters basically became gods. Everyone had a great time!

[@pinkblooky7797]

z0mbiekiller619 HAHA IM SO GLAD YOU RESPONDED! that sounds like a lot of fun! :D

[@Anonim_Anonimovic]

When I clicked on this video I was actually thinking of random encounters for high level players that would just serve to flesh out the world or fill in a blank if a player decides to explore the location they're in, and this video gave me an idea - hooks for low level adventures can actually be used for this purpose. The high level player might encounter a farmer who lost his pig, only for a small band of varied adventurer-type NPCs to appear seconds later and offer the farmer to help him with his problem in exchange for a reward. Now, this is just a random, funny, "aha" meta moment that serves to flesh out the environment and make the world a living one. However... This same principle can also involve the player character themselves. For example, a player can suddenly notice that an item of theirs is missing, and they're suddenly approached by a low-level NPC adventurer party who ask them what problem they're having. Then, the player can actually send those NPCs on a "quest" to find/retrieve that item, and have them return half a day later bruised and bloodied, but with the item in hand. This way, players can actually act as a sort of a "quest-giver" for low-level NPC adventurers, just make sure that the task is menial and is something that high-level players can't be bothered to waste their time on. This could serve as a fun meta moment in your campaign that lets players actually feel like those high-level NPCs in low-level campaigns that usually send players on simple quests. I think I just might use this in my upcoming campaign tomorrow.

[@PaxPixie]

I like the idea of combining the great escape with the disaster scenario. Your party just finished a particularly rough mission but came out victorious so you all decide to go to a local tavern and celebrate. You celebrate too hard, get a bit too rowdy so the town guard (who know you) throw you in jail for the night to sober up. You awake in the morning and as you're yelling for your guard buddy to let you out, a fireball smashes into the side of the building, showering flames and sparks in the window of your cell. At that moment the temple bell starts ringing, which usually means fire or some other disaster. You yell for the guard again but realize you've been forgotten in the panic. What do you do?

[@Grorl]

I kinda did a big as eff narrative for my campaign. My players are all really new to d&d so I had to railroad them a bit before they were getting comfortable with who they are and how that character behaves. So my campaign began with an evil wizard who began to study necromancy. My homebrew world, magic is relatively new and necromancy at this point is never heard of. This wizard was an advisor to a king, whom he had made slowly lose his mind. So, on this particular day, the wizard makes the king order everyone of importance throughout the kingdom to the Capitol. Natural curiosity all the folks in the Capitol are drawn to the massive courtyard where the king usually comes to seat to set a decree. With the entire Capitol gathered and the important nobles there, the wizard reveals the king to be dead and let's loose his undead within the city. The gates out are closed and my players are just commoners there watching this unfold. Havoc ensues as people drop by the thousands, not knowing how to combat undead as they were never seen in this world. Events ensue and eventually the players join a band of warriors as the world is plummeted into darkness. Time goes on as little by little a once fertile land becomes dead and humanity is on the brink of extinction. A series of events unfold and the players are soon caught in a magical river, suspended in time for over 1000 years. The players are then released and they find themselves in a new land. Haha, kinda long there and I left out a load of details, but I hope that sounds interesting. Lol. My players went from there and have so far loved it. They have come a long way from newbies and have been doing so well without me needing to railroad them much anymore.

[@Darknight4434]

You made them be caught in this magic river on the fist session or they trained a bit fighting in the city?

[@jacktripper3728]

good way to start any game, I myself created a starting adventure, it started with two characters who already knew each other, then gradually introduced the others, making one live in the starting town, another was just passing through, another was on the hunt, each just followed each other, and it turned out quite well

[@bigbigtimeboy]

1) Trouble on the Road 2) Disaster Strikes 3) Call to Adventure 4) Mission Briefing 5) The Great Escape 6) Wide/Open World (mixing up multiple ways to start). Thx boys!

[@Arohan71]

The idea you posed where one character hires the others is actually one I'd like to try. I like the idea of a character with a personal mission to slay a demon who hires the others to help them on that quest.

[@DungeonDudes]

This is a very effective opening, especially if the other characters develop a personal buy-in as well.

[@adreabrooks11]

I've often found that relationships like this - where one or more PC starts out as the hireling of another PC - are a good way to enhance the group's starting cohesiveness.

[@justsomeperson5110]

My favorite way to start a campaign is to trick the players with the illusion of choice. LOL Say I have a cave with some kobolds led by an evil wizard. In the town that the party starts in, all of the NPCs that they run into will have a job for them. A noble is looking for someone to rescue his wife who was kidnapped on the road into town. A merchant has her delivery hijacked. The city guard is looking to hire adventurers to look into rumors of bandits causing trouble too far outside of the city for them to patrol. The local thieves guild has heard rumors of a valuable stockpile hidden in a cave. The mage guild's lead researcher has had their research materials stolen. The barkeep at the tavern knows of several of these NPCs looking to hire adventurers. And so no matter where the party turns, every source of employment leads to the same linear plot of this troublesome cave. Even if the characters start out separated, they all end up colliding with one another at the cave. And, of course, no matter whatever hooks grabbed the party, they become embroiled in this cave being only a small part of a deeper conspiracy that they're now stuck in the middle of. And so the adventure begins. As if they ever had a choice. LOL

[@Dragito5555555555555]

Could you imagine having ‘chosen one’ heroes, but you kinda hide that the prophecy foretells them losing?

[@matsmith6018]

Funk Biscuit or having several different versions of the prophecy that noone knows the real one

[@Hazel-xl8in]

Funk Biscuit if the players never know they’re the chosen ones, then they really aren’t the chosen ones. remember, they don’t miss what you cut. you could immortalize their deeds within the world and describe the characters as heroes of a forgotten prophecy to your next players, but ultimately that’s just made up nonsense you do to entertain yourself, you know, like a writer.

[@bye1551]

@@matsmith6018 I really like that idea. I'm personally running a campaign loosely based off dark souls. The opening was "for every flame, for every light, there is an equal darkness, that is the fundamental law of this universe. 10 years ago, the biggest light of all: The Eternal Flame was snuffed. And you know what they say: where there is no light... Only darkness can ensue. But fear not, for there is a prophesy that one day, a group of adventurers will relight it... Right? Well, not quite. There are multiple legends, some say the adventurers will be godsends, destined to succeed, some say they will be mauled and fail. And none of course, none of them can be confirmed, cause then it wouldn't be a legend right? Anyway, exposition is getting boring, so... Shall we jump in to the session?" I'm personally really proud of myself for that one.

[@benhemsworth8555]

Now THERE’S a fucking idea. Thanks for allowing me to steal that one.

[@oskardietrich132]

i like to start campaigns in the middle. then finishing whatever was going on, then flashbacking to have player introductions. For instance start by having them standing and looking at a map of this prison they've broken into, and the alarm sounds. Flashback one player explains why they're here. Then the next player explains why they came along, and so on, each explaining their relation to the last player.

[@olearris]

i would love to use the "hero comes in and save the party" but twist it a bit. Picture this, Party is outnumbered and the swarm of enemies lead by a BBEG is hot on their trail. Hero comes in when things look dyer and starts wiping out the swarm of enemies while the party helps. just when he says a cool hero quote like "the sun shall shine on this injustice!" (idk something cheesy) he gets killed/knocked out by the BBEG and its up to the party to now finish the battle. Makes players think its gonna be a breeze and they wont have to do anything but then all the pressure is back and they get the glory.

[@bettsdn]

I'm writing a campaign right now and this has helped me a bunch. I've completely re-written the beginning - which I was never satisfied with - using the "call to adventure" hook. Thanks, my dudes!

[@HexManiac-nf1yg]

I love how all guardsmen party started. War, rerolling a bunch, and choosing from the survivors

[@StoatInATrenchcoat]

I'm starting my next campaign by having the PC's wake up, covered by a white sheet each on one end of a pentagram used in some kind of ritual. This circle is located in a destroyed, burnt town, which is completely empty. None of them know how they got there and the last locations they remember being are from widely different locations on the continent. The only clues they have guide them to a city not far from them. :D

[@andyh2783]

Starting a new FR campaign Saturday so I need this. Thank you gents you never fail to inspire me.

[@droehnix]

So as a dm myself, one of my favorite ways to start an adventure is to start the players in a dream like state that sends them immediately into a non lethal combat or initiative event. At some point they all here a voice stating something or someone is returning. Only to have the players wake up in different rooms of a tavern and only to have them through ease drop on other PC’s to figure out that they all had the same dream. Then send them on a minor but important quest to solidify them as an adventuring party. Plus it adds a little spice to the classic starting at a tavern/inn.

[@salomeheynemann5692]

this was really helpful! im starting dming for a new group, and we all decided to do some local mini one-two session quests to get used to the party and one anothers play style before launching into storm kings thunder. this video just made me feel all the better about starting that way, and get the players hooking into this starting city emotionally

[@rocksfallyoudie9424]

I'm going to be running my own One-Shot inside our current campaign soon, these are great tips as it'll be my first time DMing! Thank you my Dudes!

[@tonyhunt7967]

I'm currently running a fun variation on the local heroes scenario. Initially, they understood that a group had basically moved into a town and began abusing the villagers, extorting then for money and goods, which limited their access to merchant goods. It isn't until they weaken the organization enough to lure out the leader that they realize that he is using them. The boss is a convert to a new deity allegedly born out of the collective energy of those who lose faith in the gods, and requires the goods and gold to raise an army, grow its power, and one by one destroy the gods, ushering in an age of atheism in a world that relies on the gods daily. Suddenly everyone has something to lose. I always like having the layered enemy style, starting with what seems a typical fight that opens into something much more serious and deadly.

[@tonyhunt7967]

Also if anyone is curious, there is no new diety ready to wage holy war. Its a divination based Beholder invading people's dreams so that he can collect treasures from across the world.

[@willmendoza8498]

This is one of your best videos ever. I have been GMing for over 25 years and I got some great inspiration from this.

[@LailokenScathach]

"You meet in a tavern..." - this was how every D&D game started for me. :)

[@LightningHits2x]

“Doesn’t want the story to be so grim...” creates dungeons of drakenheim

[@minnion2871]

Another idea for having the "Calvary saves the day" though... Have a twist, a great Hero DOES show up saves the day but.... not alone.... (Give the players the killing blow, and have the Hero that turned the tide die in the process... There is more to be done though and as the surviving heroes you could be tasked with escorting the heroes body back to where they came from... )

[@wrestlingguy8722]

Into The Spiderverse

[@catibethp5745]

DM'd a 1-shot where players woke up being rezzed by a powerful necromancer, and were called upon to attack the nearby town they were entombed next to. As the night went on, memories flashed back to them, and by the end of the game, they were face to face with spouses/kids in the chapel at the center of town as everything else came down upon them. They recalled their previous lives when reflecting on a book at the center of this chapel, and called down a deity that destroyed all undead (including themselves) as they stared upon their loved ones..

[@edgytwat8654]

i cannot explain how helpful this video was for my first campaign. Thank you guys so much!!

[@jdonvance]

This video (and others) needs a summary/recap at the end. As little as a list of the five scenarios you've just described. After 30 minutes of imaginative leaps and fresh inspirations, I'm sure I'm not the only person struggling to remember the first five minutes of discussion.

[@Comicsluvr]

I love that you use terms from books and movies because so many of us got into TTRPGs because of our love of books and films!

[@coreyl6221]

Great video, super helpful! The 2 games I've ran so far used the trouble on the road bit and defending home community from a menace that escalates across the country side. Thanks again!

[@omega311888]

in my current party, two were freed slaves ( dragonborn ), one of which has already died. my player replaced him with a deep gnome from underdark who has been encouraged to see the world above by his uncle. one character is a street urchin who was recruited by a thieves guild in waterdeep because of her skills. and my last player is a centaur cleric from Krynn and HE is literally trying to fit in. for the first few sessions, he didnt even have a connection to this new worlds Deities. our last member is a mysterious drow monk who has, thus far, kept his motivations from the party ;)

[@BlackShadow1991]

Thank you for making these guides, Dudes, they are fun, informative and well made :D

[@ddesouz6]

I’m starting a new campaign with a ship wreak. They’ll be on a ship while a huge storm arises. The players will enter a “skill challenge” and their success with that determines how bad the ship was damaged and if they get beached with or without their equipment. Love this channel guys! Keep up the awesome content.

[@torinnreactsgaming]

Loving the concept of "throwing multiple options at the party at once". Think I may have found a possible start to my soon-to-be upcoming campaign.

[@wendigo1619]

i've occasionally used the group run into eachother and say "your doing this bounty to? well lets split the reward"... or a bunch of individual vagabonds walk into a town just as the place is attacked... recent one was a wedding scenario that went from basic ceremony to the RED WEDDING equivlent

[@joshschroeder4582]

This was just what I needed

[@mt_baldwin]

Old vid but for anyone looking now: A good hook is "wanted without a reason" where one or more of the players is being looked for or hunted by the powers that be, but at the start the players don't know why- perhaps it's a wanted poster they see their own name on, or a friendly NPC tells them a group of scary, powerful people came looking for them while they were away. To keep the mystery going you can have the low level searchers knowing only that the players are suspected of having met a certain NPC (someone from the players backstory works best) and this NPC is thought to have passed on to the players dangerous info or the McGuffin etc. Like this, the players return from an adventure to their favorite inn, only to find it sacked and the friendly innkeeper beat to a pulp. The innkeeper tells the players a large, heavily armed group came to the inn looking for them and when the innkeeper didn't tell them where the players were the group ransacked the inn and the groups leader roughed up the innkeeper trying to get them to talk. The group didn't tell the innkeeper why they were looking for the players, only that the players are very dangerous and need to be stopped as soon as possible. Only the most uninterested of players won't immediately bite on this hook. The second part of the hook will really get them, this is where they learn that it's because of someone from one of the players backstories is why they're being hunted. And from here you got 'em hooked, they rush to clear their name or find the backstory NPC, maybe carry on this NPC mission etc.

[@icanreed333]

About to DM my first campaign and this video was just what I needed. Thanks my Dungeon Dudes!

[@jacktater1462]

Another idea for the whole escape thing, you can also have the players hear rumors about a person they can get in contact with who will help them once they’ve escaped. This was very common in the American Underground Railroad, where songs would be circulated among the slaves that had instructions on which houses to visit and what people to look for who would help you get to Canada

[@makhnolelong177]

Thank you guys! I have a lot of ideas to work with now.

[@nofoxtugiv7377]

Honestly revisiting this video while putting together a fresh 3-20 5e campaign, this inspired a great way to not only start their first adventure, but provide a quick hook for the overarching adventure (or at least, the skeleton of it)

[@LockSteady]

Kelly's train engineer hat in this episode is hilarious

[@DungeonDudes]

Hahaha well thanks! I never considered it a train engineers hat. It’s actually got a tiny metal gear logo on the beak somewhere but yeah, I see it. 😂. - Kelly

[@syrupchugger421]

I know how to begin my next chapter of my campaign! Thank yall so much for your videos

[@radioface4997]

The priest of a small village sends out a call for aid to nearby villages. _"The graveyard has been tainted with necromantic power and the dead are beginning to rise."_ - something like that Once they arrive at the site, the priest is revealed to be an aspiring necromancer in search of more powerful minions. Que 'boss battle + cannon fodder' Within the shrine is a few magic items, a single Prayer Bead, an Onyx Dog Statuette, an Alchemy Jug, A Folding Boat, things of that nature. As well as notes on where to find other artifact of a similar nature or the command words to activate the item. As well as his journal describing a coven of necromancers forming in a nearby abandoned fortress, and his plans of joining said coven once he had taken over the starting town. The players get a fancy trinket to play with early on, with the loose promise of more to come. AKA: Side Quests They are also made privy to a serious threat that they can chase or ignore at their leisure. AKA: Possibly A Main Quest(If they ignore it for long enough) Then just let them play in the sandbox for a while.

[@beaucarter4692]

Love you guys. Never stop being awesome.

[@35Xshadow]

While this wasn't the start of the whole adventure but this was a start for one of the players. He started in one of the bigger cities of my world, as a member of a mercenary guild there he was known as a veteran of his trade, but he was backstabbed by his team on one of his mission, and he laid there in the middle of the forest with a spear through his chest and a lot of minor wounds that included trouble breathing. At the same time the rest of the party was venturing through the said forest towards the next town, at first they did not see/hear that character but because of him pulling out the spear from his chest and of course yelling because of it he was heard. The party after hearing that roar caused by the searing pain of said action, at first felt fear and didn't want to come close to the source of the sound, but one brave kobold cleric run towards the source of the sound (it was atypical for him since most of the time his character is an opportunistic coward), soon after realizing that their kobold friend ran towards the source of that roar, they ran after him, and they saw a scene of their little cowardly kobold friend healing a giant goliath with an even bigger beard. When the new player's character became awake again he laid on a wagon that was going to the city the rest of the party was venturing towards, and said party sat on the side of it with a simple villager driving this thing, and saying in a redneck accent "Ah! Look's like the big guy's awake. Welcome back to the world of the living. You have to thank the folk sitting next to ya, especially the little kobold over there, he kept healing you all day and night." And the big guy through tears of happiness and sorrow said only 2 things "Thank you! I will never be able to repay this debt.".

[@halifaxredemption]

I'm enjoying your videos. I used to play D&D 2nd Edition back 20+ years ago. I've recently picked up the 5th edition books and have started DM'ing for my 12 and 10 year old kids. They are loving it! It's such a great way for them to play together and work together (they are brother and sister so it's increasingly rare) and they are always asking me if they can play. This is a great game to get kids to be social and hang out in person again!

[@TabooX1984]

Does Mom, and the kids' friends join?

[@halifaxredemption]

@@TabooX1984 No to the wife. Yes to the kids friends.

[@sunshocked6564]

Thank you!!! I'm quite awkward and don't know how to start pre-adventure... but once the game starts rolling my confidence kicks in as I'm having fun ^^

[@MultiracialLion]

This video came out the day after I told my dm that I had an interest in running a campaign! Thanks for the help! Now to figure out how to get the players to save the world by fixing the four crystals that hold the world together...or something like that. Super keen on those elder elementals from Tome of Foes :D

[@witchBoi_Connor]

Multiracial Lion final fantasy? (Or, if you’re like me, bravely default)

[@dragonson72]

@Muktiracial Lion, Sounds like Final Fantasy Mystic Quest

[@johnr7279]

More awesomeness--thanks guys (oops...dudes!) All the best and keep on makin' videos!

[@PlasmaStar-me1hq]

im starting what's effectively a "chapter 2" of an ongoing campaign, and before the video i was feeling a bit worried i might not think of a very interesting way to start it. "chapter 1" started with them all being locked away in a dungeon. after watching this, i have so many ideas! i feel extremely inspired to mix some of these ideas to create something i'm confide t my players will enjoy.

[@BarbarianBristle]

Love your guy's videos. Very helpful.

[@thomasmonks5715]

I absolutely love the travelling to a wedding, there's gonna be so much panic in my next session. I like the idea of planes walkers from wizards mtg, I did a campaign where the party is trapped on the plane and cant leave, mission (and yes I heavily ripped off/was inspired by xilan and the immortal sun). The campaign was over in a week because we played every night for a week

[@joshuaehl1481]

I would love more videos like this.

[@Dan1Micek]

First off if anyone wants to use this, feel free to do so. :) Each player starts out traveling doing what they wanted. At the end of the day, they decided to go to their local tavern or found a town and seeked out the tavern. While eating, two figures flew in on an enormous raven. Gave the player character an invite to a tournament on an island. They choose to do so, making their way to a castle with the port. As they were docking however on the island, something had happened to knock them out. Yes you need to knock them out. When they awaken they find them shackled down, with “Prince Charming” sitting/standing across from them. After welcoming them to the island and the tournament, saying this is all apart of the tournament. After a little convo, the pc gets their memory wiped out. All they know are only a few key details. Then they awaken in a random home in a random town. All elements are dice rolled from what happened to knock them out, to their race/class (class starts as a normal job. Foraging food, building, slave, etc.) All the way down to what they are destined to become, (This being an actual class, rogue, fighter, etc.) Up till the point you knock them out, their character is in a haze, so you don’t have to worry about doing your rolls right away. If they try and see what they look like, have it for some reason they are unable to see what they look like or what equipment they have. Though if they ask, say that they feel like they are much more equipped then what this castle can provide. This will give them a sense of feeling like they lose a lot as their powers and equipment are taken from them. This will give them a new reason to want to play. If you would like more info, ask below. 😊

[@poetwarrior7153]

Great ideas and advice on how to implement the different ideas. Very important to have a session zero and ask the players what they are looking for. I used to think of hooks and story but I now think in terms of "the meetup". A short scenario based on the players feedback in session zero, that acts out how the players meet and become a team. After the meetup I try to find ways for the players to decide what to do next as opposed to hooking them in to adventures. In my current campaign I worked with the players to leverage their backgrounds to give each of them to give them all a list of objectives and let them negotiate with each other what to do next. You can also use the classic Westmarches style; here is a rough map with blank spaces on it where do you want to go? I'm toying with a campaign that gives the players a choice of joining either a adventures or mercenaries guild and then giving them a list of contracts that they could take. If you listen to interviews with authors some describe the process of writing as letting the story write itself and this is the DnD equivalent of that style. Doesn't mean there won't be a overarching story or a big bad guy I just develop that as it goes along rather than having an outline of the narrative at the start of the campaign. Not that style of the DM driving more of the story doesn't also work it depends on the table.

[@tiberiusroot]

Thanks both! Very useful and watchable content- keep the vids coming!!. Almost have enough confidence to DM myself now...well maybe not just yet! :)

[@DungeonDudes]

You can do it! We'd love to hear about how it goes once you get behind the screen for the first time. And if you have any questions or need more advice, let us know -- we might be able to cover it in a future video! Thank you :)

[@quattovallor71]

Thanks for the ideas!

[@rappscallion3238]

The term for starting the story with an action scene is called "in medias res" (lat. into the middle of things). So you start of with a bang and later the story fleshes out with what led up to that point and should probably happen next.

[@mal2ksc]

This is something I always improvise. Ever heard "no plan survives contact with the enemy"? I'd say it often doesn't even survive contact with your friends. :) I'd much rather wait until I've seen the player's backgrounds and bios, because then I can riff off of what they've already done. After the first adventure, when I can see the type of game they prefer, I'll worry about how to enact the story arc.

[@agilemind6241]

What do you use as the first adventure that is flexible enough to figure out what type of game they prefer?

[@PaxPixie]

You mentioned that it really sucks for the players when the cavalry arrives and saves the day. That might be the case, but I say you can disappoint them short-term and have the "cavalry" arrive to save the day, but then they notice that things aren't lining up and through a series of investigations you discover the "heroes" who saved the day actually work with the attackers and go from village to village gathering rewards for thwarting attacks they orchestrated. Makes for a great goal to gather evidence or get someone to confess to the leadership and a final confrontation with the supposed heroes. You could also convince their allies that they're being used and not getting the rewards they deserve and have them turn on each other. Great way to twist the "dues ex machina" scenario.

[@PerFranck]

I love to add benign noncombat encounters for flavor. Like, let's say a campaign takes them on a 4 day journey to a pre-planned encounter, make them encounter, say, on the first day some travelers where one has fallen into a river, broken cartwheel, sick NPC or animal, sort out a love story at a night camp, etc, and they can use noncombat skills to help (or not). it keeps them on their toes (suspecting a major storyline plot) and you can also choose to shift gear into a mini-side-campaign. Deus Ex Machina: Let the players be the cavalry. it's a great feeling.

[@tfrusti328]

After working out each character's back story that came to the point that they knew what drives them. Each wanted to join an elite group (for all different purposes) that were holding auditions for new members in a tournament-style format. Since there was so much back story done with each character each one of them refused failure and made sure that they've done everything possible to be able to advance. Surprisingly each made it in.

[@sperkins11111]

A DM I knew ran an interesting set-up/group gathering. The PCs, and various others, were in a bar, where a rousing barfight drew PCs and NPCs into it. When it was all over, and the city guard tromped in, only the PCs were left standing. The PCs were taken before the city rulers, who told them that all crimes would be absolved if the PCs accomplished a certain task for them. It’s been a long time, and I forget the task, but I thought the way he brought everyone together, quick and dirty, but letting the players get a little fun under their belt, was interesting. (By the way, the PCs were NOT first levels.)

[@blm2357]

You dudes are awesome! I have a really ambitious idea for a multi layered campaign.

[@musicman2786]

I started my game with everyone being in an adventuring company as interns. The game literally started at orientation in a boardroom and had the group try to restart the WiFi.

[@stonerocks0]

Really helpful video for a DM in the making - thanks!

[@DonaldSimsProduction]

Thanks for the ideas.

[@thatlonewolfguy2878]

I'm considering making a start to a campaign that's like a comedic spin on the "take a bunch of giants and tear this town to the ground" approach, basically make it that a wild troll is attacking the city walls then blast the Attack on Titan theme song lmao

[@SitoriKanzaki]

Awesome ideas thanks

[@All4Tanuki]

I'm planning my first campaign and to set the stage I'm using a prison start that will lead to "community service" in the form of goblin slaying to start things off before I start inserting hooks along the way. I'm excited to see if they play along, and what else they'll do on the way, or if they'll just head off on the run from the law the whole campaign

[@Desdemona-XI]

Love the video especially as most of these work well for starting side quests and adventures that maybe arent directly crucial to the campaign as a whole (or at least may not appear to be) but i would love a follow up that mostly focusses on the inital party meet and formation: Like if your players havent prior to the start agreed to be a party with some level of party history. (I myself am a big fan of the bunch of strangers meet up and decide to travel together set up because it makes for glorious roleplay moments. But it begs the question as to how to arrange the meeting. Especially in cases where a few members of your party are very contrasting and probably wouldnt normally cross paths. For example the devout assimar paladin. The timid gnome tinkerer. The elven noblewoman or the tiefling warlock escort/dancer or the crusty dwarven sailor. Or when some of your party are more typical monster races like minotaurs I'd like to know how you deal with putting these people who normally on the street would sneer at eachother or ignore eachother or maybe even straight up be hostile to eachother. And try put them all in a situation that has them work together or even finding a place for sometimes very dissparate groups to even meet. Starting an adventure (main or side) is hard. Starting a party seems like it can be harder. Because generally you want them to end up like a family. Tight knit and trusting eachother and good friends. But often in first sessions or session zeros these characters would have a hard time even meeting let alone teaming up. And yes you dont neccisarily want them to buddy up right away. And ofcourse you dont control your players or their characters But getting the ball rolling is kinda daunting.

[@allenridenour1826]

Started a campaign with 2 brand new players........had the group wake up in vekna's realm......best start EVER!

[@persici9650]

I'm Co-dm'ing with my friend and we're still trying to work out how to start the campaign, so this really helps! We both like having nuetral/mixed characters and we're planning on having me play a character as part of the story... basically my character is the one who brings everyone together in order to fulfill a propchecy and bring them to the...I guess antagonist (he can either be an antagonist or Ally depending on what choices you make) Basically my character is manipulative and secretive haha...

[@ArdaKaraduman]

In one of my adventures, I had my party bump into a woman and a child running away from a group of thugs. The child is heir to a powerful family, the woman is childs personal guard and thugs are assassins hired by a rival faction vying to take power. They find themselves in a power struggle between two rival factions.

[@korybrager3628]

My favorite beginning was one where the PC's all woke up in an inn, with no memory of what happened. And it turned out as they attempted to help the town, they were actually apart of the enemies of the town.

[@icanreed333]

This is so Dark Matter! I love it!!

[@korybrager3628]

I have also started my characters off as level 1 commoners. Making them decide their future due to the adventure

[@georgemercer402]

The "call-to-adventure" startup can be good if it's started correctly-- for example: 5 out of 6 PCs meet up at a masquerade being held before diplomatic matters commence; the 6th sneaks in looking to loot some of the rich people there as quickly, quietly and stealthily as possible. Suddenly, at least half of those in attendance reveal themselves to be followers of Vecna and are looking to kill the entire committee including the hosts of the gathering; the Rouge then shows herself by killing a Vecnite. The others begin evacuation of the committee while fighting the invasion leaving only one Vecnite still present (alive or otherwise on their own); interrogation begins before briefing the PCs on their mission. That's just how I plan to start things off and the rogue was merely an example since my older sister plays one on occasion

[@TabooX1984]

I liked the early Ravenloft scheme of the mists flowing onto the characters and transporting them to the realm. It's like an escape plot where they do something or remain trapped. I ran Feast of Goblyns forever ago and it was fun for me too. One of the first times I'd ever DMed.

[@TabooX1984]

Re 20:56 😄 Hadn't gotten that far in the video when I wrote my post.

[@zephyrstrife4668]

One of the things I've been enjoying about L5R is that since your characters are Samurai (bushi, shugenja, courtiers, etc...) your characters are nobles who are supposed to be the local authority, which comes with its own restrictions, duties, investigations and especially politicking to do with both your duty and desire. Characters are expected to have built in weaknesses, vices and strengths. Like my upcoming game as an example, the PC's are all members of the local imperial prince's court and have to deal with the clan politics that will work favorably for their families back on the mainland. Some characters are expected to clash socially with each other, even as they have been instructed to work together towards their prince's goal. As advisors, chief of staff, head of security, etc... the pc's have the ear of an influential npc, but it still gives me the freedom to have him give the pc's orders as well as giving the characters opportunities to find unconventional quest givers.

[@stevennewlin5388]

i had a huge flock of crows and ravens descend upon the city during a harvest festival. The cacophony of cawing slowly turns into the words "the flesh is a lie and we are finally free" followed by very very human laughter. then the Raven swarm started to attack the by standers. Or the a Pc walks to his room in an in opens the door to find a strange misty forest and a flock of strange bipedal feathered lizards lunges at him, any subsequent opening of the door just leads to the inn room.