Is there a way to start off a campaign with the whole "you've

Depends on your players, their character's and the setting.

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A gladitorial match that gets out of control, allowing the pcs a chance to escape sounds good to me.

Depends on the GM

>>52931908
Depends on the setting, characters, players and GM.

>>52931908
Sure, you explicitly point out about how they're sex slaves, and how they've all been repeatedly anally violated by [badguy race of choice]. Make one of them anally pregnant. They'll be so enraged by what you've done that they'll go of on a roaring rampage of revenge, which is always fun.

>>52931908
I'd say it depends on the GM, actually.
Out of the Abyss can start really good if you can hammer them with how petty and hateable are the drow.

>>52931908
I find most players enjoy fighting their way out of a goblinoid slave camp. If you're starting above level 1, it can also be a good way to start them without their gear but have their gear located nearby for them to find / as loot against nearby weakish enemies. Always fun to break a nose, take your sword back, and then slowly turn to look at the other guards with a mad smile on your face. IT'S CARVIN' TIME!

>>52931908
Be up front about it at the earliest stages (i.e. before character generation).
Have interesting content with real choices in the prison section.
If possible, have the PCs rescue themselves, not a deus ex machina Patrick Stewart-as-the-Emperor bit.
Try not to buttsex the casters with your prison locale, nobody likes to be useless.

Depends on the characters, setting, players and the GM.

But in all seriousness, it works. Either gladiatoral arena or a slave ship getting shipwrecked were both great experiences for me as a player. Just make sure the players are OK with starting with no/very little gear.

>>52931908
Try talking to your players, explain how you want to start the game, see what they say and if they have any ideas.

Worst idea: letting the players make their characters and pick their equipment and then announcing that they've lost all their equipment because they're arrested lol.

>>52931931
>>52932155
>Setting
How does this depend on the setting?

You just have to make it compelling like you would with any other story.

All tropes can be done well.

>>52931908
Morrowind