The party meets in a tavern

>The party meets in a tavern
>The party meets in prison
Which one of these cliché campaign starters do you prefer, and why?

The tavern is much more likely to be the place where people from all around gather, the prison kinda forces you to add a lengthy intro chapter to get the starting equipment back

Even better
>The party begins in a wagon tied up with no items and no memory of getting there.

Tavern. Prison openings almost invariably start with
>Missing equipment
>Getting pressganged into a quest
>Implied out-of-character actions for a lot of character types

Plus I've been doing nothing but gritty cynical post-cyberpunk games for a while now, so diving back in to traditional fantasy played 100% straight with old men doling out quests in taverns and dragons capturing princesses would be quite refreshing.

>The party meets in the BBEGs harem

>Hey, you there. You're finally awake.
>You were trying to cross the border right?
>Walked right into that Imperial ambush same as us and that thief over there.

Prison because it FORCES players to come up with a backstory. One question leads to another and even if it takes place after the game starts they will have a backstory by the time it maters.

>Why are you in prison?
I'm a thief
>How did you get caught?
uhhh I was robbing a merchant when his guard walked in.
>How did that happen? Dident you make sure it was clear?
Uhhhh
>Why were you stealing?
>Who was your fence?
>Where was your safe house?
>Do you know about X part of the city?
>How did you get around the guard patrols at night?

So on and so fourth. Because the players start with nothing they have to ask each other these questions to get an edge in. That safe house could be critical as it likely has tools stashed there. That fence gives them a way to buy items without attracting suspicion. The players are forced to write their backstory and it will almost always be relevant in some way.

Why not both.
>you've been sentanced for a crime you didn't commit and sentanced to burial alive. However this doesn't mean what you think, you are shackled and dumped into a massive underground cavern turned free range prison. No one escapes, last time a man was found to be tunneling they stopped the supply drops, after a week with no food or light the mining equipment found its way to the guards along with the bodies of the miners. You'te sitting in one of the many taverns that dot the pit afterba long days labour.

>The party meets outside the prison, just walking by
>The Party meets in baggage claim at the airport
>The party meets in Ye Ol' Wendys Drive-Thru

Meeting up in a tavern in prison.