Beginnings of a Character

One of the things I like to do when I start a game/campaign is to provide the players pre-gens.  Pre-gens tailor made for each person.  I ask a few questions ahead of time like what class they would like to play and personality.  Then I create the characters around what they want to play then, I take the time to construct a loose background, give them information about the world they are about to explore so they are not going in cold.  I provide them with allies, family and enemies. 

I've done this in the past and it has worked very well and the players seem to like it.  It provides a character backstory before they get started, helps them get an idea of the world, provides knowledge footholds of villages, people and businesses.  I send them their characters a few days ahead of time so they can read through and they can ask any questions.  If time allows I have in the past run them through solo sessions.

During the first night the players all should have had their characters and read through them enough to know the backstory.  I always have connections or hints at things during the session that refer to their backstory. 

Next Thursday night I'll be running a session with three, possible four players and tonight I'll be working on creating them.  I'm looking forward to actually playing it instead of writing about it.