I've had this problem my entire DMing. When I start an adventure, I obviously give them a starting scenario.
"You've been given an assignment by your guild leader to escort a wagon to the small village of Durnham. (Rest of Starting Text) You leave at first light tomorrow. Don't be late!"
Now that the starting text is done, what do I say next? "Okay, anybody have questions about you objective? No? Okay, well the next dawn you get up early..."
This doesn't seem like the players can do much, they just have to follow the quest. Honestly, this scenario could possibly work, but i'm looking for a roleplaying friendly experience. When I finish the Starting Text, how do I merge into the rest of the adventure? Is this scenario actually good, and I don't need to improve? Let me hear your thoughts.
I typically make that transition by inviting players to help set the scene, which you can do by asking leading questions. You can start small, like "how does X feel about the mission?" or "what is Y hoping to get out of this?" Then you get more specific after establishing the narrative with your players: "ok, now what's the marching order? Who's at the head and who's at the back?" Then, you can focus more on the content you've prepared: "ok X, you're in the rear, roll a perception check...17, ok, you can hear twigs breaking as raiders sneak up behind the group" or "ok Y, up front, you see an overgrown mound with a cavernous pit next to it, and you hear cries for help from within the pit-- what do you do?"
Start broad to set the scene, then work your way into specifics.
"You've been given an assignment by your guild leader to escort a wagon to the small village of Durnham. (Rest of Starting Text) You leave at first light tomorrow. Don't be late!"
After I read the starting text, using your example, I either roleplay the receiving/giving of the timetable/news/etc. and have it know what time that starting text is given. Then say it is half past 5, the sun sun is still up and you smell cooking/dinner, what happens next.
The PCs usually say they eat dinner and go to bed/memorize spells etc.. If nothing is planned, or a PC does not want to shop for a niche item based on the text language, I say it is time to get up, what do you do.
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I've had this problem my entire DMing. When I start an adventure, I obviously give them a starting scenario.
"You've been given an assignment by your guild leader to escort a wagon to the small village of Durnham. (Rest of Starting Text) You leave at first light tomorrow. Don't be late!"
Now that the starting text is done, what do I say next? "Okay, anybody have questions about you objective? No? Okay, well the next dawn you get up early..."
This doesn't seem like the players can do much, they just have to follow the quest. Honestly, this scenario could possibly work, but i'm looking for a roleplaying friendly experience. When I finish the Starting Text, how do I merge into the rest of the adventure? Is this scenario actually good, and I don't need to improve? Let me hear your thoughts.
"That is not dead which can eternal lie;
And with strange aeons even death may die"
-H.P. Lovecraft
I typically make that transition by inviting players to help set the scene, which you can do by asking leading questions. You can start small, like "how does X feel about the mission?" or "what is Y hoping to get out of this?" Then you get more specific after establishing the narrative with your players: "ok, now what's the marching order? Who's at the head and who's at the back?" Then, you can focus more on the content you've prepared: "ok X, you're in the rear, roll a perception check...17, ok, you can hear twigs breaking as raiders sneak up behind the group" or "ok Y, up front, you see an overgrown mound with a cavernous pit next to it, and you hear cries for help from within the pit-- what do you do?"
Start broad to set the scene, then work your way into specifics.
Thanks for the Feedback!
"That is not dead which can eternal lie;
And with strange aeons even death may die"
-H.P. Lovecraft
After I read the starting text, using your example, I either roleplay the receiving/giving of the timetable/news/etc. and have it know what time that starting text is given. Then say it is half past 5, the sun sun is still up and you smell cooking/dinner, what happens next.
The PCs usually say they eat dinner and go to bed/memorize spells etc.. If nothing is planned, or a PC does not want to shop for a niche item based on the text language, I say it is time to get up, what do you do.