Greetings, gamers from all systems, places and timelines!
When running a campaign for new players, you will want to lead off with your A-game.
However, at the same time, you don’t want to work until Christmas designing every detail of the first adventure. Well, I have good news because there are ways to handle this with minimal prep time, so you can focus more on your players who are learning. Below is a list of 8 tips that will allow you to accomplish this and hopefully have an extremely successful opening campaign with your new group.
1. Draw From Material You’re Already Comfortable With
When using existing material the advantage is that it will be completely fresh and new to your audience. Don’t think of this as recycling old ideas, it’s more like giving some great previous stories and modules an encore performance. And while it’s understandable that some DMs thrive on coloring in the details of their game world, you will have to make your best guess on what your new group is actually going to enjoy. Just keep that in mind before you create a floorplan for a mansion they may never enter. Not to mention, there is no shame in introducing a slightly used map from a different campaign.
Here you have a chance to break out some of your greatest hits from past games, revamp them and have them fit your needs. How much you would like to alter things is at your discretion. But you deserve to likewise have fun with things by adding your own twists or yanking out parts that you didn’t care for. Or perhaps have plot changes that are tailored to your group’s backstories as a hook. In this way, you can further refine a story that was already near to your heart while making it a perfect fit for the new group.
2. The D&D Tour of Italy
Since you’re not sure what might entice your new group, it’s often best to keep all of your options on the table. With that said, don’t be afraid to also save yourself some serious time by dropping in multiple different established cities or regions into your game. And If that means you need to cross campaign worlds to accomplish this, then go for it.
Who says Greyhawk and Waterdeep can’t be in the same setting other than perhaps a small army of Cr 26 copyright and rules lawyers? Because if somewhere like Greyhawk exists in your campaign, it adds a degree of depth regardless of how much it actually plays a part in the story.
3. Allow Access to the Wonders of the World
What fun is it having the vast deserts of Al-Qadim to the frozen reaches of the Spine of the World in your game if the players can never reach them? Some players might enjoy an Oregon Trail-style trip complete with dysentery and measles, others may not – which is why eventually my players found a Final Fantasy-style airship. It doesn’t matter how you do it, build a magic train if you have to, but your players bought a ticket, so let them see all of the cool places your setting has to offer.
4. Don’t Open With A-list NPCs
It wouldn’t be too crazy if someone like Gorstag from Ed Greenwood’s Spellfire was bartending in your homebrew town. However, maybe the party shouldn’t run into Elimenster or Blackstaff the first time they step into Forgotten Realms, either. Why would one of the world’s greatest wizards need the assistance of a party of tier-one characters unless it was to have some dry cleaning picked up?
5. The Opening Session Shouldn’t Be a History Lesson
Regardless of the design of the world, the last thing you want is to overload any players, but especially new ones, with tons of world lore. And while it’s tempting to showcase all the hard work that went into the creation of this game, it should be used to add depth to the environment as needed. Just keep in mind some players eat up those details while others hear all of this and become more lost than the characters from the Blair Witch Project.
6. The Character Introduction Scene Is a Must
While having a session 0 will help the game start off on the right foot, the characters also require a proper introduction to each other. This can take place as part of a backstory or during the game itself. However, also make sure that the players have a reason that tracks with the logic of your game why they are all traveling together.
Otherwise, don’t be surprised when one of the characters in the middle of session five says something like, “Why are we here, why are we headed there, and who the hell are all of you?”
7. Have a Session Where the Activities are Balanced
Since it hasn’t been determined yet what your group will use for their preferred problem-solving method, toss out a few different scenarios. In this way, you can observe if the new group leans towards elements like combat or diplomacy. You might be surprised as the party solves a key issue in an unexpected way, which is definitely not a bad thing.
Just feel out what the group likes and give them the style of game they want.
8. Make the Opening Game Right to the Point
While you’re not overloading your potential new players with lore you should likewise keep the first game concise. In this way, everyone has a chance to explore their character’s personality and abilities without getting lost in the near-infinite possibilities the game offers. Admittedly, I am a huge fan of one-shot adventures, and this is the perfect time for one. This will allow you to create a story everyone can sink their teeth into without needing the long-game details, like where the master sword is buried or what the tier-4 boss villain’s motivation is.
Final Thoughts
When running a game for new players, they probably don’t need you to start the story at the literal beginning of time. Nor will they want a history lesson that could make a pot of coffee pass out. Instead, use their unfamiliarity with your material as an advantage. This will allow you to draw on material from previous games that might be a good fit for the new group and insert them into the new environment as needed.
If done correctly, this method will free up vast amounts of your DM bandwidth. And since you’re not building the multiverse, you can now focus more on the new players, which arguably is the most important aspect of all of this. Because no one will care about how great your third story arc would have been if you lost your audience by the second game.
Are you a DM who is setting up a campaign for a first-time player? We would love to hear both your stories and thoughts.