Tips for New Dungeon Masters: Getting the Party Together (Part 1)

The Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game has been around for over thirty years, and has been played by millions of people all across the globe. But actually getting a group together and running a game can be a daunting task. The Dungeon Master needs to be an organizer, manager, storyteller, and director. This is a big job, and can lead to a lot of missteps and false starts as the Dungeon Master tries to figure things out on his own. The purpose if this series is to help fledgling Dungeon Masters, as well as Game Masters of other systems, learn the ropes of the Dungeons & Dragons RPG and provide a fun game for everyone!

Getting The Party Together

One of the most basic problems facing new Dungeon Masters (DMs for short) is how to get the party together to adventure in the first place. Players will often have wildly different character concepts and Ideas. Ragtag Bunch of Misfits doesn't even begin to describe the diversity of characters you're likely to see:

* One character may be a grim half-vampire ranger out for revenge against the kobolds who killed his sister.
* One character may be a happy-go-lucky gnome bard who never has a bad word for anyone.
* One character may be Krunch McBonemeal, a super strong dwarf warrior, and that's all the player has thought so far.
* One character may be...A dragon! no...A pixie!...no...A magical robot fueled by the soul of an elf with fighting stuff and MAGIC POWERS!
* One character may be Tim. He's an enchanter. Can we start blowing things up now?

This can be difficult to weave into an effective team, especially if all the players are new to the game and haven't created the characters together.

So how can you get all these people to go on the adventure you've planned and get them working together to save the world from evil?

The Traditional Meeting: You All Meet At A Tavern

The most common place to start a roleplaying game is an inn or tavern of some sort. It's so common that it's a cliche among more experienced groups, but that doesn't make it a bad place to come together.

Usually the format for this goes something like:

* The party members come in to the tavern separately. They have a few drinks and get into character, interacting with the staff (jawing with the bartender, or trying to get in bed with the comely tavern wench), and possibly each other.

* And then something happens. Either:

- A mysterious stranger approaches them with a job offer ("I have a map of this place said to contain fantastic treasure", "I have a job that requires disposable, er, I mean expert people") or...

- An event happens that forces the group to work together (a bar brawl starts, some sets fire to the tavern, An assassin attacks another patron, demons come popping out of dimensional portals) or...

- Something happens to force the party together by circumstance (taken prisoner by the city watch, being shanghaied, or a town crier comes in offering a bounty to whoever is brave enough to slay the wendigo).

* And thus, a party is formed.

This is a stereotype because the format works. It has some bits that strain the suspension of disbelief, but it's an acceptable break from reality. An inn, tavern, or similar establishment is very useful because it's a social gathering point. People go to bars to meet other people, to relax, and to mingle. Food and drink help cement bonds. You can't ask for a better setup for people who know nothing about each other to come together.

If you want to make the intro feel less cliched, though, here are some pointers:

* Have some of the characters know each other. They could be related, friends, coworkers, acquaintances, maybe even rivals. Think about Han and Chewbacca from Star Wars meeting Luke and Obi-wan. The Cantina scene is a classic of this type of "You All Meet At A Tavern." Obi-wan and Luke know each other and can play off each other as they interact with the bar denizens. The same for Han and Chewie. However, the two pairs don't know the other pair, and that's where the meeting dynamic comes in.

This technique is something I'll discuss in more detail later.

* Have some of the characters working there. Instead of just "random adventurers walking into a bar," The Big Guy is the bouncer, the Elvish Maiden is waiting tables, and the Conniving Rogue is a regular who comes in to drown himself in ale. This works well with the "Something happens in the inn" version of this technique. The players get to have a bit of sympathy for the place, as they have a little bit invested in it.

* Change the venue. Have the players meet somewhere else that is public, attracts a lot of people, and encourages them to interact. A fancy dress party, a town festival, a traditional bonfire, a public execution...let your mind go nuts. Some of these may work less well for certain characters than others, but it can bring a bit of freshness to an otherwise flat experience.

* Use the tavern as a meeting point, allowing them to interact there, but then have the story start elsewhere. Let the characters interact and have fun, and then allow them to go their separate ways, using one of the other techniques I'll be detailing in other articles to bring them back together. This way, you breed familiarity into your party. They'll have seen familiar faces, and be more likely to respond to those faces seeing them elsewhere. this is a basic psychology ploy--you're more likely to deal with people you've already met before.

* Alternatively, use the Tavern as an endpoint. Have the players meet up in various ways beforehand (one or two at a time) and then bring them to the tavern (or other venue) all together and have something happen. This takes some cooperation from the players and knowledge of their backstories to pull off, but it is also a way of getting people together naturally and organically. I'll discuss this method in more detail in a future article.

So. Here are some techniques for using the most traditional method of Dungeons & Dragons party building together. Do you have your own ideas or comments? Share them below!

Sources:

Personal Experience

TV Tropes