I have an odd way of introducing people to my campaign.  Everyone is used to having the secret five page, single-spaced background, but I’ve found that unless it comes into play, it doesn’t matter.  So I gave everyone around fifteen minutes of solo time based on a couple of ideas they gave me and used that as a background prequel, played out in front of the whole group.

That way if someone stumbles across a character subplot, everyone knows.  Or if there’s a side conversation because a character needs to sneak away, everyone knows what’s going on and they can still enjoy the show.

As a DM, you’re there to entertain everyone else.  As a PC… you’re there to entertain everyone else.  I was lucky enough to have a group who instinctively knew that, so it was just a fun ride.

Two point perspective on this strip…the main thing is realizing that fantasy buildings need cracked masonry, and a lot of random strips of wood sticking out the sides.