Before your first session begins, you get a short opening scene - just you and me, with the other players as the audience. It’s a quick, cinematic moment (five minutes, tops) that shows off who your character is before the party ever forms. Think of it as your TRAILER.
Out of all the ways to kick off a campaign, this is my fave. A group is at its most fun once everyone really knows each other’s heroes, but those first introductions can feel slow and awkward. The vignette skips that. By the time the party comes together to set out for their first Expedition, the others already have a feel for who you are.
You Don’t Need a Finished Backstory
This is the part people get wrong. You do not need a detailed history to have a great vignette.
- Got a lot of ideas? Perfect, bring them. I’ll build your scene around the character you’ve imagined.
- Got almost nothing? Also perfect. “I’m a big orc who hits things” is a completely fine starting point. I’ll hand you a moment that fills in the blanks for you, and you might be surprised what you discover about your character in the process!!
Either way works. Come with as much or as little as you’ve got. Your job is just to show up ready to play your character for five minutes.
What Actually Happens
The scene is a back-and-forth between you and me. I set a situation; you say what your character does. The sooner you’re describing actions and reacting in-character, the better it flows.
A few things to know going in:
- You’re in on it. This isn’t an adventure where the outcome is a mystery. You already know how it ends - you sign on with the Relic Hunters’ Guild and the campaign begins. The vignette isn’t about what happens; it’s about showing the other players who you are while it happens.
- When presented with your situation, say what you do. If you’re new to playing a Tabletop Role-Playing Game, the bones are that I give you a situation (with epic narration and cinematic music behind it, naturally). You then tell me and the group what you do in response, or what you/your character say. If the outcome isn’t immediately obvious, I call for a roll, and we see if you succeed.
- The stakes are narrative, not lethal. If I do ask for a check, a high or low roll only flavors the scene - it tweaks how things go, not whether you make it to Hearth. You’re always going to end up at that contract. Roll big and look heroic, roll low and look scrappy; the story bends either way is gonna be freaking awesome either way.
Lean in
The best vignettes come from players who commit to the moment. Puff out your chest, talk in-character, make a choice your hero would make. This is your spotlight, USE IT DAWG! THIS CAN BE CINEMA!
What It Can Do for You
Vignettes aren’t just an intro. Played well, your scene can:
- Introduce people only your character knows - an old contact, a rival, someone you owe. They might come back later as a quest hook.
- Plant your personal goals out in the open, so I (and eventually the other players) can tug on them. Even if other players’ characters don’t know this information about you, it’s SUPER fun when other PLAYERS are aware of where your character’s narrative could lead!
- Hand you secrets - sometimes I’ll use a vignette to give your hero information the rest of the party doesn’t have yet. Use it well.
Examples
These are illustrations, not templates, yours will look like you!!
Example 1 - The player who keeps it simple
You want to play a hulking bruiser who joined the Guild because the pay is good and the work is loud. That’s the whole pitch, and that’s plenty. I take it from there:
The Blue Flame, Hearth’s only tavern, is feeling warm for once today. A Guild recruiter slides a contract across the table and a heavy purse on top of it. “The Wastes are cold, friend. Cold, and full of things that bite. You sure you still want the job?”
What do you do?
You open your mouth and say, “I crack my knuckles, pocket the purse before they can change their mind, and exclaim, ‘on my honor, you will have your relics, and I will have hot showers once again!’ (the Hearth Engine provides all Guild Members hot showers as they like haha).
The recruiter grins. “Flame guide you then!”
Notice you didn’t need a single backstory detail. You walked in with “big bruiser, here for coin,” and you walked out with a character the table now knows: decisive, blunt, honorable, maybe a little greedy, exactly the kind of person who can tough the Wastes and the kind of wildcard that the Guild loves to have. I filled the blanks and YOU made the choices!
Example 2 - The player with a full backstory
You’ve got a developed history: a non-magical scavenger who clawed their way to Hearth after losing everything in the Frost. They’ve got no magic. They’ve got nothing but their own wit, and they have a specific person they’re trying to find. You told me that you want that arc to matter and be key to their story.
I build your vignette around it - maybe a quiet scene the night before you sign on, a memory, a conversation with someone from your past. The scene lets the other players witness your motivation instead of reading it on a sheet or in a text, and it gives me open threads to pull on for the rest of the campaign: who are you looking for? What happens when you find them?
Bringing a big backstory? Keep it collaborative.
Write all you like - then hand me a short summary up front, and treat the rest as “not canon until it hits the table.” It keeps your story flexible and respects how much I’m already juggling hehe. THX! (More on this in Thinking Up Your Character.)
Example 3 - The player who wants secrets
You want to play a character who’s holding something the rest of the party doesn’t know - a hidden agenda, a secret patron deity powering dark magic, a double life. Work it out with me beforehand, and your vignette becomes the reveal to you: a coded message, a sealed envelope, a contact who speaks a phrase only you recognize.
You get to show off that hidden edge in front of everyone - they see you doing something important, even if they don’t yet know what. And the secrets the party shouldn’t have yet stay where they belong: with you and me. >:)
How to Come Prepared
You barely need to. But if you want to walk in ready:
- Have a one-sentence sense of your character, even just a vibe.
- Skim Thinking Up Your Character so you’ve got a motivation in mind.
- Be ready to say “here’s what I do” out loud and in-character.
That’s it! I can handle the rest. Talk it through with me during character creation or just after - bring what you’ve got, and we’ll build your cinematic moment together.
Questions? Ask in Discord. Ready to build the sheet? Head to Character Sheet Setup.