It all started at the Tavern

[doneatrawhagis]

I'm trying to write an opening for a campaign I'm writing and can't figure out how to start it. Its a standard evil shadow corporation trying to take over story. As far as actual spying is involved I am leaning towards a healthy balance between undercover and assault tactics, a lot of SciFi elements though. This got me thinking, how do you start your games? The standard one for fantasy games is a bunch of adventurers grouping together at a tavern.

The last game I played(havent GMed spycraft before) started in a hap hazard way. Each one of us was contacted at a hangout we chose before hand. I chose an internet cafe as the hacker, our soldier was sleeping on a park bench, and our wheelman was getting drunk at a bar. We were each hired by a private company to figure out what was stolen from a research company. The Intro started off pretty bad as I decided to be my Anarchistic hacker self and say that I dont do well with authority. While our Wheelman decided to ignore the calls and hire a hooker.

How do your games start?

[Desertpuma]

My suggestion is to start with the entire team called/brought in for the briefing. Do the briefing, answer questions and then get to the gear.

[Aldus Vertten]

I used to do the "In media Res" thing... start with the end of a previous mission, a fight, maybe a chase. After the initial action scene, the pc go back to debrief, and get a new mission. You can even link both missions, making the intelligence they gathered the reason for the new one...

[Sletchman]

How do your games start?

I change the opening sequence depending on the mission type - sometimes i'll go in media res, possibly mid way through a chance, or with the team already in place - perhaps the face has already infiltrated the place they're checking and they have schematics and can plan how to do the deed itself.

Unless it's important to the mission itself I don't have the game cover the call to arms, because my players are bastards might not follow the plan and get the mission started properly [much as you've described happening in your own game].  An example of using the call to arms as part of the mission would be if the HQ is under attack, or they turn up just in time to see it explode or something - a little cheesy, but sometimes it's what players want.

[Morgenstern]

Have the players meet up at a funeral, and make each of them come up with a reason why they are acquainted with/related to the deceased and why they are looking to put things right for the memory of the departed.

Tell them that's the starting scene beforehand, work with them individually to make their stories all click, and let them share their reasons with the other players at the first session.

[Nepenthe]

Have the players meet up at a funeral, and make each of them come up with a reason why they are acquainted with/related to the deceased and why they are looking to put things right for the memory of the departed.

Tell them that's the starting scene beforehand, work with them individually to make their stories all click, and let them share their reasons with the other players at the first session.

Or a wedding... that gets hit by a black ops team/cartell soldiers 

[MilitiaJim]

Or a wedding... that gets hit by a black ops team/cartell soldiers 

This is making a zombie theme wedding look like a good idea.  At least the wedding party will be packing heat.

[Nepenthe]

Or a wedding... that gets hit by a black ops team/cartell soldiers 

This is making a zombie theme wedding look like a good idea.  At least the wedding party will be packing heat.

Actually it was Scott's and Tarantino's two ideas colliding in my head, with 0 personal input from yours truly.

[TheTSKoala]

My typical campaigns start Die Hard-ish.  Explosion of an entire store front, kidnapping and gun fire, MBTs & Hum/Vs rampaging down central small town, USA... something... right in the middle of wherever the PCs decide they are.  We typically do Freelance campaigns, or mostly freelance and 1 or 2 company people. 

And.. if they DO ignore what's going on, I tell them to re-roll chars as obviously those chars are playing in another campaign and don't have time for the current emergency.   

[VisualStatic]

The Burn Notice episode with Burt was a great start.... they noticed a Spetnaz team checking into a hotel and decide to investigate....

[doneatrawhagis]

The Burn Notice episode with Burt was a great start.... they noticed a Spetnaz team checking into a hotel and decide to investigate....

But what about getting the team together in the first place. In Burn Notice they have Michael as a centralized character. Fii is his ex-girlfriend, who is a gun nut, that he brings on. Sam is his old-war buddy who has been brought in because the FBI wants information on him.

Sometimes it seems easier to have everyone know each other before hand, but it just seems a bit too easy.

[ArawnNox]

The Burn Notice episode with Burt was a great start.... they noticed a Spetnaz team checking into a hotel and decide to investigate....

But what about getting the team together in the first place. In Burn Notice they have Michael as a centralized character. Fii is his ex-girlfriend, who is a gun nut, that he brings on. Sam is his old-war buddy who has been brought in because the FBI wants information on him.

Sometimes it seems easier to have everyone know each other before hand, but it just seems a bit too easy.

It may be easier, but it ensures that the characters can get along with each other. Plenty of games have ended because players simply played their characters, ignoring meta-reasons to cooperate. Though, it was hilarious to watch the players in my Darkest Hour game pander to the Drake PC's ego to convince him to help.

[Gentry]

I'm a big fan of "you all know each other and have a reasonable amount of trust in each other. That said, let us begin."

If you feel like you'd rather have an actual reason, you can work with your players to create characters with specific ties to each other. Old army buddies, roommate of an ex-girlfriend, a married couple, siblings/cousins/half-siblings, and so forth. If you want to get really interesting with it, cook up the ties yourself after the characters are created. Psion's Spycraft iconics exist as a functioning team already, and each character has a section of "how you feel about your teammates" with an entry for each.

If you want to get really narrative/creative with it, in your first session give each player a sheet with the briefing text already on it, as well as in-character description of the rest of the team (who they know, and some of whom they've worked with before). Let the players quietly read for a few minutes, and then start play.

[Desertpuma]

In this situation, they all know at least one other person on the team somehow. They could have gone through training together or had some other person tie. I'm not saying they have to like each other but they have to work with each other. Besides, it can be interesting, if it does not derail the campaign to have 2 guys talking constantly during the mission about who is better the Red Sox or the Yankees.

[Nezeray]

I'm starting a new Spycraft game soon and I plan to have the party roll up characters together and discuss how they know each other.  Let them figure out why Control would want them working together.

James / Nezeray