It’s either a tradition or a trope for adventuring parties to meet down at the local tavern, and to come together in common cause over drinks. However, while that is a perfectly functional beginning for a campaign, sometimes you want to do something different. If you’ve been trying to figure out where your party first got together, or you just want to make a different impression on your players, then consider trying some of the following starting places and framing devices for your current round of characters to form a party!

As a disclaimer, these starting points are not universal. Many of them will be tied closely to particular genres of adventure, or they will require greater levels of player buy-in to work. With that said, though, consider talking to your players, and even letting them vote on a handful of suggestions you think work best for the story you’re telling. Or, for hard mode, roll a d100 during Session 0, and whatever comes up is the first session that you and your players need to prepare for next week!

To use the list, either roll d100 for a random result or select appropriate ones manually.

Here are some sample results:

74. An Offer You Can’t Refuse
A syndicate boss comes to the various characters to make them an offer that will square a debt they owe, or which will give them something they very much want. Perhaps one character got into a brawl with the syndicate’s street soldiers, and doing this task for the boss will smooth that incident over. Maybe another character is a thief who stole from the syndicate, and doing this favor will wipe out that black mark. Of course, once the service has been rendered and the favor done, it’s possible the syndicate will have a position open for them to join the ranks (if that’s the direction you want your campaign to go).

75. Masters and Students
Each of the characters has a mentor that helped them learn and perfect their skills. The mentors were all companions, once upon an age, and they want their students to follow in their footsteps. This begs the question as to whether the characters are their teachers’ best students, or if they’re in need of rounding out with help (and perhaps a little peer pressure) from others. To help this story along, the Game Master should work with the players to create stories of the mentors’ time traveling and adventuring together, creating frameworks of stories the players might encounter as they meet others who know of the legends (big or small) who trained and fostered them.

76. Refugees
Something happened to destroy the character’s homes, or at least the place they were recently living. Perhaps a town was razed by an invading army, or a rampaging mercenary company. Maybe hordes of demons are ravaging the countryside. An undead tide might be sweeping down from the frozen north. Whatever the cause, it’s left the characters (along with many others) adrift, and in need of a place to regroup. Perhaps they merely begin as refugees fleeing in the same direction, but over time they should face challenges that bring them together so they can find common ground, and start getting back on their feet.

Released: 16th May 2026 Pages: 27

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