How to Start an Adventure
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Many early computer RPGs did likewise, starting the party in a tavern (Wizardry I, Might & Magic I) or something like unto it (the guild hall in The Bard's Tale). To be honest, I made the Inn & Tavern in Frayed Knights the central location for most of the plot-critical goings-on in town for just that reason. But the whole (everybody meets in a tavern thing) is really trite and uninteresting (except as a joke) most of the time, and so games have tried to find different ways explain the motivation for the player's character(s).While certainly overused, I think the amnesia opening of Planescape: Torment and other titles carries the most weigh to get me genuinely interested early on.
(You are summoned by the king) is another popular one, which I feel is just as creatively barren as the tavern opening. It doesn't have to be this way, but it forces the action without requiring much by way of background or backstory. The patron with the plot hook is some kind of authority figure, who gives you the quest early on. Variations of that include many of the Ultima titles (which summoned you to the king's world but didn't usually put you anywhere near the king), Magic Candle (if I recall correctly), Neverwinter Nights, the more recent indie title Knights of the Chalice. I guess Diablo and Diablo 2 count as well the limited story seems to suggest that you voluntarily came to assist a town under siege by darkness, though that motivation is left deliberately fuzzy.
Another opening that seems common enough to be cliché from the realm of jRPGs is the Chrono Trigger opening the main character awakens on the morning of a big event in town (or the village), only to discover it's far more interesting than he or she ever expected. This is a little better than the generic tavern opening, and it still provides a social atmosphere where the primary character can be introduced to other important characters (including potential or future party members).
This may or may not be combined with the (your village is burned down) opening. Which is a quick-and-dirty way of forcing the action. Dungeon Siege and Neverwinter Nights 2 opened this way. Baldur's Gate had an interesting variation on this theme, wherein your home town itself wasn't literally burned down, but for all intents and purposes your home was destroyed and you were forced into exile. Ditto for Fallout 1 and 3, where a crisis at home forces you into permanent exile. I haven't played all of the openings in Dragon Age: Origins, but as my castle was being burned down by bad guys I thought, (I don't think I've had my village burned down quite this well before.)
One opening I can think of which may intersect with some of these others is one I'd call the Shipwrecked Opening. The main character or party find themselves tossed out into a hostile environment with little warning or preparation. In Daggerfall, Knights of the Old Republic, and Wizardry 8, this is caused by a literal shipwreck. Though I think Wizardry 7, Morrowind and Oblivion are also examples of this kind of opening.
