How do you start off your series RPG?

[Adm. Warren]

I am starting a Federation game set after the Dominion War on Saturday and was wondering if I was doing this first game correctly. do you guys/girls just jump on in to the game or do you take the time to set everything up. I am one of those people that believes in taking the time to build a good story. so my games (or this first "episode" takes some set up to get everyone at the station where the series will take place). my question is, is a good plot/set up game going to bore the players or is it best to just jump right into the action. my first few scenes in what i have originally mapped out for the game doesn't involve action, just mainly talk.
thanks for your comments.

[Lt Cmdr Matt]

In pilot episodes I try and have a sprinkle of everything. This past episode that I ran is the pilot of the series and I had the players crash land on a planet, with people tracking them down. That has action and diplomacy. A good mixture of both Action and Talk. I try and keep everything in the pilot to snag the player's interests.

[KillerWhale]

Frankly, it's your call - and it depends on what your players like.

If you intend to have a long campaign, play often and your players are interested in character development, I'd say they will be delighted by your approach.

If they are more the action type and you will not play often, you might want to throw them into missions from the top, so that they may learn to know each other directly.

[qerlin]

I've found a good teaser: a past incident during the war for one or another of the characters to build the flavor quickly, then move to the 'introduction', where everyone is brought together. Then hit 'em with some kind of plot/story/whatever.

The teaser always seems to work well. Just keep if taught and quick.

[Hugh Casey]

Usually I start my games in a tavern...



H.

[Capt. K. Vaughn]

It varies depending on what type of players I have and what I am trying to accomplish within the game campaign's run from beginning to end.

I do attempt to establish a decent backstory and history for why the characters are where they are no matter what but after that it depends. Finding a way to tie the characters in together tightly helps though in my experience no matter what one is trying to accomplish.

Regards,
CKV.

[Shoshuro]

Originally posted by Hugh Casey
Usually I start my games in a tavern...



H.

That's what I was thinking when I saw the message header.
That or "Your on a road outside of town..."

[Capt. K. Vaughn]

Originally posted by Shoshuro
That's what I was thinking when I saw the message header.
That or "Your on a road outside of town..."

The Last Tavern this side of the Great Barrier on the spacelane to Sector Nowhere.

Regards,
CKV.

[Hadley]

I agree with Capt. Vaughan - it all depends upon the type of player you have in your group. However you will also need to take note of the players' level of experience and knowledge they have about RGP systems.

When I started running my USS Dauntless campaign, only three of the players had ever done RPG gaming before, mostly dear old Dungeons and Dragons, but all were keen Star Trek fans and members of the local fan club (as was I). As a result, I decided to modify the adventure "Shakedown Cruise" from the LUG Core Rulebook, in that the storyline worked well both as a stand-alone scenario and as a springboard for the rest of Season One. It also worked well in that it allowed the non-experienced players to learn the game mechanics and rules, it was fast-paced enough to hold their interest and allow for development of their characters (both Starfleet and non-Starfleet).

Oh, and Hugh - most of the characters did start off in a tavern ... a little place called "Quarks" in downtown Deep Space Nine.

[Cptn. Taggart]

It was so long ago, I honestly don't remember. I think we are on season 5 or 6 by now.

[Publius]

Because my group tends to meet infrequently our missions tend to have loose connections to one another, so we don't necessarily have a special first episode. However, since I am about to start a PBeM with my group (hopefully to smooth over the infrequency of our face-to-face gatherings and maybe to collect some new faces too) I have been wondering if I should do something more... arc-driven for my "premier".... Therefore, I am eager to hear what other people are saying on this topic myself.

[JALU3]

If it's a Starfleet game . . . then all games start with the PCs responding to orders from PERSCOM . . . nasty little buggers really, especially if you don't have any contacts in the inside.