I found the best way to start a RL campaign!

[artemis wands]

Hi, I'm new here. I'll be hanging out when I can, and I wanted to start with a short tale about how I started my most recent RL campaign.

This was about three years ago, so some of the details are rusty. But the gist of it was this:

All of my players were new to RL, and knew next to nothing about it. So I told them to generate new PCs who were going to be RL natives. I required them to give me as much background as they could on their characters, being sure to leave gaps or mysteries that I could fill in with surprises later on. Once they were done with that, I collected all their character sheets and assigned each of them high-level pre-gen PCs for use with the House of Strahd module. These pre-gens had names like Jaqueline Montarri, Alanik Ray, Kateri Shadowborn and Gondegal.

I told the players that the purpose of this was to familiarize them with the rules of RL without having to risk their own PCs. But there was a catch: they actually were playing their own PCs, without knowing it.

Turns out "House of Strahd" was actually the latest play written by Lemot Sediom Juste of Scaena. The PCs had, prior to the module's beginning, all found their way into the "haunted" theater space that Scaena was currently occupying, and been forced into the roles of Juste's doomed "heroes." Juste, of course, had used the names of some (in)famous RL personalities, about whom the actual players knew nothing.

After they figured out their PC's dilemma and managed to escape Scaena, the party began the actual campaign, and as it progressed, they discovered that the play had foreshadowed many of the "real world" events in which they were involved. They were especially flustered the first time they encountered an NPC with the name of a character one of them had portrayed in Juste's drama. And every so often, spooky things would happen that made them question whether they'd actually ever escaped Scaena in the first place.

Sadly, this campaign broke up before reaching an end point, but I never forgot the fabulous way this beginning hooked the players. There's a chance I'll be able to run a new RL game in the near future, with another brand new group of people. I just might have to dig this old trick out again.

[JinnTolser]

Wow, I like that. I've always been fascinated with the possibilities Scaena offers, but I've never had the opportunity to use it. Perhaps one day, when I actually run another Ravenloft campaign, might I steal this idea?

[artemis wands]

Wow, I like that. I've always been fascinated with the possibilities Scaena offers, but I've never had the opportunity to use it. Perhaps one day, when I actually run another Ravenloft campaign, might I steal this idea?

Go right ahead. It's a neat trick for any of the RL modules. It might even be a good way to work in I10.

[Dimitri Mazieres]

Very, very cool trick! And a great way to use both Scaena and those modules that are part of the setting's "past"!

Do not hesitate to share more of those devious techniques.

[JinnTolser]

It certainly is a way to use the "kill the darklord" adventures without radically altering the landscape and/or power structure of the Core.

[LordGodefroi]

One word: Sweet !

[BigBadQDaddy]

I have to say that was a very interesting idea...(erhmm!)...for me to steal...(runs into the night cackling maniacaly)

But in all seriousness, way to go including so many great concepts in one shot. The PC go from knowing nothing, to a slight familiarity with the setting without realizing it. Very Cool.

[NeoTiamat]

I like it, it has so many possibilities. If I may, can I ask how you solved a pair of problems?

1. If the players are all knew to Ravenloft, how'd you get them to come up with Ravenloft Natives as PCs? Just hand them the books for the time being or what? This is where I usually stumble.

2. Was there any feeling of being cheated among the players when they found out 'it was only a play'?

The idea of having PCs start off by playing various infamous characters from Ravenloft mythos appeals however. Fiendish.

[artemis wands]

I like it, it has so many possibilities. If I may, can I ask how you solved a pair of problems?

1. If the players are all knew to Ravenloft, how'd you get them to come up with Ravenloft Natives as PCs? Just hand them the books for the time being or what? This is where I usually stumble.

2. Was there any feeling of being cheated among the players when they found out 'it was only a play'?

The idea of having PCs start off by playing various infamous characters from Ravenloft mythos appeals however. Fiendish.

1. I worked a little backwards here. I had them give me general backgrounds and concepts (such as, "I am an orphan who was raised by the local temple, and never knew my parents") coupled with a character class. On the basis of their backstory sketch, I told them what nation they'd most likely be from and what sort of names were common in that region (one of the PCs -- a scheming noblewoman rogue with the proverbial heart of gold, ended up coming from Borca, for instance). Then, I consulted the relevant book along with them, controlling what they could see. No idle browsing this time; not with RL books!

2. None of them felt cheated at all. On the contrary, they thought it was cool. The scene where one of them first broke through Juste's spell is still talked about amongst us, because it was a total shock to the player as well as the character. I believe it was in Castle Ravenloft's banquet room, when they were sitting at the long table. The PC in question (thinking he was Gondegal, but really being an orphan half-elf warrior from Mordent) saw his own reflection in the mirror rather than Gondegal's (in game, I secretly rolled Will saves for all of them, and he was the only one who succeeded). I explained to him in another room what he saw and who he "really" was; he had a hella time convincing the others they weren't really who they thought they were. Luckily, they all passed Madness checks when dealing with the revelations.

All in all, it's remembered as one of the best sessions we ever had. Give it a try!