Not terrible, but zzzzzzz...
If I've learned anything from video games, it's that you should stick an exciting scene right up front. Let's look at one of my favorite games, Skyrim. It's starts with you on your way to be executed. As the executioner raises his axe, a dragon swoops down and attacks the site, and the scene erupts into chaos. You spend the next few minutes running around, avoiding the creature's fire. Every time you think you've found a safe spot, the dragon knocks down a wall and breathes fire in your direction.
It's very cinematic, and gets your blood pumping right off the bat. Of course the scene is actually very easy, and is scripted in such a way that you're never really in much danger. But at the time it very much feels like you could die at any second.
Another good example is The Last of Us. The first few minutes have you watching the world fall apart around you, peering through car windows as your father drives you through the early stages of a zombie apocalypse. Eventually you have to get out and continue on foot, running through the streets while crowds of panicked civilians flee around you. It's one of the most exciting scenes I've seen in a game, and it's right there in the first fifteen minutes.
Meanwhile, I'm looking back at most of the D&D campaigns I've been in, as both a player and as a DM, and the openings are usually pretty subdued. More than one started like I describe above, with the PCs meeting at a inn, and/or being hired to guard a caravan.
Shattered Star began with us receiving a summons to meet with our questgiver at her mansion, to discuss a missing artifact. Our Scarred Lands campaign began with us attending a festival, which reminded me of the opening of Chrono Trigger. The Artifact Hunters campaign also started with us preparing for a big social event.
Dragon's Demand had an excellent opening. We were attending an auction, when it was attacked by several batlike creatures and a drake. As we finished off these monsters, a giant black dragon swooped down onto a nearby roof, issuing an ultimatum for the town. With a booming voice, he gave the town two weeks to fulfill a debt. It was an epic scene, an image that will be burned into my mind forever... except, no, wait, that didn't happen until our eighth session.
Session one actually started with... let's see... ah, we were hired to guard a caravan. Yeah. See, that's just disappointing. The title scene should have happened in session one. Yeah, they probably would have had to change the dragon's deadline to a month or more instead of two weeks, so the PCs would have more time to level up before the climax. But it would have been a much stronger opening that would make sure the players looked forward to coming back each week.
I'm not blaming any of my DMs, and most of these were published adventures anyway. But I think module writers shy away from cinematic openings because they're afraid of making an encounter the PCs won't survive. But there are ways to separate the PCs from the danger without it looking too obvious.
Take the Skyrim scenario, for instance. Let's say your level 1 party arrives in town just as a huge dragon lands in the town square. That doesn't mean the party has to fight the dragon. They can treat it as a series of skill challenges as they run through the alleys, avoiding flaming debris, helping random citizens, and so on.
If they do fight the dragon, that doesn't mean the dragon even notices their pitiful efforts, as the monster concentrates its attacks on the much more dangerous town guards. Have the dragon destroy the town around the PCs, and then fly off without even acknowledging their presence.
The PCs still get to be heroes as they help tend to wounded, and rescue people trapped in their collapsed houses. Maybe they'll get sent to some of the surrounding towns to seek aid, doing some sidequests to gain a level or two. Then, they're given their first real quest: Find out who summoned the dragon. They won't fight the dragon itself until many levels later, but giving them this early taste of the later threat is really tantalizing.
So my current goal, next time I start a new campaign, is to have a really memorable first session. Instead of just having everyone meet at an inn, maybe they'll meet at an inn that immediately erupts into flames, while masked thieves raid the place looking for something. Or when the merchant starts to lead them over to the caravan they've been hired to guard, one of the wagons is suddenly lifted off the ground by a giant bird, the first of a flock that terrorizes the town.
But from now on, when I DM, I want to treat it like a movie. I want an exciting incident to happen within the first few minutes of gameplay, and I want that incident to be big enough to make a lasting impression. The PCs can introduce themselves to each other after things calm down, but I'm going to give them a taste of excitement first.
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