I'm a new DM that had to take a break of about a year and a half after the first several sessions I ran for friends but we're picking up again this weekend and only one PC from the original party is the same (the other players wanted to try new characters which was fine by me) and I just wondered what could be a good way/side quest to get them working together for the first session back before we get to the main plot of the campaign again?
They're level 5 currently and right now they'll start out in a port town I made up on the coast which is where the PC from last time winded up after the mission she and the other PCs had been on if that helps!
1: The random group of strangers start in a tavern, each with their own thing going on. Let them give their own story or reason for being there and whatnot. Find out who's been drinking some stuff (at which time you run some constitution checks). If someone hasn't been drinking, try for a wisdom save or see if they can resist a sleep spell. Point being, attempt to get as many of them knocked out beforehand. It would be up to you to decide on the method, but either through spiked drinks or magic cast against them or both. If none of those work, whoever is still standing can be ganged up on by the enemy and knocked out.
They might manage to fight their way out... potentially. But if that be the case, then give them a hook to either find out why they were being targeted. One of the enemies could have a note and some coin or even tell them directly if they haven't been outright killed. They can follow that plot hook if they manage to win in any case. Otherwise...
Later, they wake up on a ship; caged and/or restrained. Your choice of either slavers, a cult, or pirates who forcefully "recruited" the group of strangers. There you can have them work together to escape or whatever...
Plenty of plot-hooks to find if they look around and/or listen to some of the other captives/captors. <Ship doesn't have to necessarily be out to sea just yet either. Doesn't even have to be a ship for that matter; could be a warehouse or something on the docks.
Open style of starting, with plenty of optional things for the party to decide on with the primary goal of escaping or taking out the captors. One unforeseen problem to arise could be if they manage to take the ship over... though this could be mitigated by having the enemy willing to destroy the ship as a last resort. Alternatively, the port authorities could simply deny them ownership if/when they return to port.
2: A pirate attack on the port town. Less of a hassle with setup. Direct action with multiple points to bring each character into the fighting and action. The pirate's goal being either to pillage something valuable or whatever.
With this type of event, I'd setup certain points where each player's character enters the scene following the introduction and actions of another. Building up the party over the course of the session (Asking and playing out each PC's action during the whole thing) until it culminates with everyone facing off against the main threat. At the end, you don't even have to have a main antagonist, the pirates could simply give up and leave due to the efforts of the group.
The main thing that you'd want to avoid is having the players all just sit there waiting for their turn to pop up for too long. If you start with one, give them a little screentime to describe their character, what they are doing or going to do during this situation, you can have them face off in a battle alone against a single enemy or whatever they can handle, and then switch to another character.
Give each player a chance for the spotlight and give them a few enemies/rounds to fight (if that is what they want to do) and/or have some of the PC's join in to help the previous character. Just make sure that each player meets up with the previous one or another player in order to give them their own time to introduce themselves. <Would be easier if some of the PC's already know each other and are with each other to begin with. <You can basically say that player x and y just met one another a few seconds ago and just let them beat the crap out of a low-level goon or something; before meeting up with the other players.
My current group met not in a tavern, but on the street outside a tavern. They had individually been inside, when a man came to the door screaming for help. Something valuable had just been stolen by kobolds, and he saw them go into a warehouse across the street. The players volunteered to assist, and formed a party the next day when offered another job by him.
Taking the above as a random example t ogive flavour to the theme, let's say clearing Kobolds out of a warehouse in a farm outside of town.
One of the party, ideally the most level-headed, has advertised for people to assist with the job. Discuss it with them before - explain that they have seen a job for a group to clear out kobolds, which have now taken over a farm, and the advert specified "groups wanted", not "individuals". Ask them if they would advertise for a group - if they say no, don't force it; ask the next most likely PC.
If you get one, then have them advertise to meet in this tavern. This gives the party a good reason to know one another, without having to meet an NPC. The advert may simply be a bounty for clearing the farm, so they may not even need to meet anyone official until after the effort.
Have the new PCs introduce themselves, as they enter the bar to apply for the positions. Then have the old PC be already at the bar. Tell the player that they should make a story of what happened to the old party, and why the kobolds won. Then tell them to interrupt or introduce themselves, with the story, when they feel it's right. This should get all of them in one place, all together, with motives - the money, and for the old character, revenge.
Work with the old PC player to make the story. Give yourself leeway to work on it - perhaps the warehouse caught fire, and the PC was the only one to escape, but they don't see the fates of the other PCs. This may lead to a reuniting questline. Everyone loves to see their old PCs become NPCs, after all!
Thank you so much to everyone for the ideas, this is all extremely helpful!!
The quest they were on before was investigating strange multicolored mists that would descend upon small towns attracting a specific type of monster depending on the color, the townspeople from each having disappeared (not turned into monsters), and they were on the trail of the mysterious wizard who they learned seemed to be responsible. During our last session the group had to deal with assassins who were after one of the PCs and they ended up convincing the assassins to take twice the gold their Guild leaders had received to help them take out the Guild leaders and let her go.
I had asked what options the players were okay with regarding what happened to their old characters, and we came up with the idea that the PC who was being hunted asked to accompany the assassins for a while for protection in case her grandparents ordered someone else to come after her, another PC having gone with her to help watch her back, and that the other PC was killed by whatever monsters were at the next town covered in mist, leaving the remaining PC the only one left on the hunt for the wizard and the missing townspeople and allowing me to have the other two show up again as NPCs later on just in case.
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I'm a new DM that had to take a break of about a year and a half after the first several sessions I ran for friends but we're picking up again this weekend and only one PC from the original party is the same (the other players wanted to try new characters which was fine by me) and I just wondered what could be a good way/side quest to get them working together for the first session back before we get to the main plot of the campaign again?
They're level 5 currently and right now they'll start out in a port town I made up on the coast which is where the PC from last time winded up after the mission she and the other PCs had been on if that helps!
They all show up for the same job offer, publicly posted.
Easy Peasy
1: The random group of strangers start in a tavern, each with their own thing going on. Let them give their own story or reason for being there and whatnot. Find out who's been drinking some stuff (at which time you run some constitution checks). If someone hasn't been drinking, try for a wisdom save or see if they can resist a sleep spell. Point being, attempt to get as many of them knocked out beforehand. It would be up to you to decide on the method, but either through spiked drinks or magic cast against them or both. If none of those work, whoever is still standing can be ganged up on by the enemy and knocked out.
They might manage to fight their way out... potentially. But if that be the case, then give them a hook to either find out why they were being targeted. One of the enemies could have a note and some coin or even tell them directly if they haven't been outright killed. They can follow that plot hook if they manage to win in any case. Otherwise...
Later, they wake up on a ship; caged and/or restrained. Your choice of either slavers, a cult, or pirates who forcefully "recruited" the group of strangers. There you can have them work together to escape or whatever...
Plenty of plot-hooks to find if they look around and/or listen to some of the other captives/captors. <Ship doesn't have to necessarily be out to sea just yet either. Doesn't even have to be a ship for that matter; could be a warehouse or something on the docks.
Open style of starting, with plenty of optional things for the party to decide on with the primary goal of escaping or taking out the captors. One unforeseen problem to arise could be if they manage to take the ship over... though this could be mitigated by having the enemy willing to destroy the ship as a last resort. Alternatively, the port authorities could simply deny them ownership if/when they return to port.
2: A pirate attack on the port town. Less of a hassle with setup. Direct action with multiple points to bring each character into the fighting and action. The pirate's goal being either to pillage something valuable or whatever.
With this type of event, I'd setup certain points where each player's character enters the scene following the introduction and actions of another. Building up the party over the course of the session (Asking and playing out each PC's action during the whole thing) until it culminates with everyone facing off against the main threat. At the end, you don't even have to have a main antagonist, the pirates could simply give up and leave due to the efforts of the group.
The main thing that you'd want to avoid is having the players all just sit there waiting for their turn to pop up for too long. If you start with one, give them a little screentime to describe their character, what they are doing or going to do during this situation, you can have them face off in a battle alone against a single enemy or whatever they can handle, and then switch to another character.
Give each player a chance for the spotlight and give them a few enemies/rounds to fight (if that is what they want to do) and/or have some of the PC's join in to help the previous character. Just make sure that each player meets up with the previous one or another player in order to give them their own time to introduce themselves. <Would be easier if some of the PC's already know each other and are with each other to begin with. <You can basically say that player x and y just met one another a few seconds ago and just let them beat the crap out of a low-level goon or something; before meeting up with the other players.
My current group met not in a tavern, but on the street outside a tavern. They had individually been inside, when a man came to the door screaming for help. Something valuable had just been stolen by kobolds, and he saw them go into a warehouse across the street. The players volunteered to assist, and formed a party the next day when offered another job by him.
What quest were the party on before?
Taking the above as a random example t ogive flavour to the theme, let's say clearing Kobolds out of a warehouse in a farm outside of town.
One of the party, ideally the most level-headed, has advertised for people to assist with the job. Discuss it with them before - explain that they have seen a job for a group to clear out kobolds, which have now taken over a farm, and the advert specified "groups wanted", not "individuals". Ask them if they would advertise for a group - if they say no, don't force it; ask the next most likely PC.
If you get one, then have them advertise to meet in this tavern. This gives the party a good reason to know one another, without having to meet an NPC. The advert may simply be a bounty for clearing the farm, so they may not even need to meet anyone official until after the effort.
Have the new PCs introduce themselves, as they enter the bar to apply for the positions. Then have the old PC be already at the bar. Tell the player that they should make a story of what happened to the old party, and why the kobolds won. Then tell them to interrupt or introduce themselves, with the story, when they feel it's right. This should get all of them in one place, all together, with motives - the money, and for the old character, revenge.
Work with the old PC player to make the story. Give yourself leeway to work on it - perhaps the warehouse caught fire, and the PC was the only one to escape, but they don't see the fates of the other PCs. This may lead to a reuniting questline. Everyone loves to see their old PCs become NPCs, after all!
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Thank you so much to everyone for the ideas, this is all extremely helpful!!
The quest they were on before was investigating strange multicolored mists that would descend upon small towns attracting a specific type of monster depending on the color, the townspeople from each having disappeared (not turned into monsters), and they were on the trail of the mysterious wizard who they learned seemed to be responsible. During our last session the group had to deal with assassins who were after one of the PCs and they ended up convincing the assassins to take twice the gold their Guild leaders had received to help them take out the Guild leaders and let her go.
I had asked what options the players were okay with regarding what happened to their old characters, and we came up with the idea that the PC who was being hunted asked to accompany the assassins for a while for protection in case her grandparents ordered someone else to come after her, another PC having gone with her to help watch her back, and that the other PC was killed by whatever monsters were at the next town covered in mist, leaving the remaining PC the only one left on the hunt for the wizard and the missing townspeople and allowing me to have the other two show up again as NPCs later on just in case.