From easiest to hardest:
1. The first three words of the novel can be "fuck", for all I care. And, yes, three is an arbitrary number, but as the fuck-ratio approaches 100 % I get increasingly bored (at some point it even stops mattering if you misspell some, put other in italics or capitals... such tricks will only take you so far.)
Of course, if anyone puts in a "fuck" for shock value, they'll lose me. If they're just being
shocking I'll raise my eyebrow at them, but I can forgive that. But anyone who thinks it's possible to offend me with a "fuck", is bound for unintentional comedy.
Finally, RemusShepard makes a good point. If your story's going to contain fucks, and you're afraid they're offensive to a portion of your target readership, use them early. You may lose a few readers who would otherwise have forgiven you on account of your brilliance; but of those that you keep fewer will be... let's call it disappointed. (Which may mean a slower start but better word of mouth. Or not.)
Aside:
RuvDraba said:
But seeing swearing early -- especially if it's ahead of mood, setting and character-establishment -- would persuade me that the author didn't know how to write dialogue.
Why?
2. I've now read the openings in the other, and I still don't have any idea. The second one is quicker, which may be an unfair advantage with a set amount of words.
For the record, I don't need an action-packed start. I don't need the story to start with the main character. I don't need conflict right away. I have none of the preference, at least not consciously, that have been mentioned so far.
If you really can't decide which to put first, split the page in two as long as the strands are parallel, and put one left and one right. Of course, since we read from left to right that doesn't entirely solve the problem. And it's probably going to annoy many.
3. Whatever scene you put first will influence how I read the scene that comes second. If some element introduced in scene 1 lessens a surprise in scene 2, that's a point for starting with scene 2. If an element in scene 1 helps reduce the amount of exposition necessary in scene 2, that's a point for scene 1 (unless the element in question is exposition in scene 1 also, in which case introduce it in the scene that has less action [as exposition tends to interrupt less in slower scenes], and the point goes to that scene). For example, the slower scene, setting up magic, can serve to up the threat level in the faster scene, only by having a mage in the tavern (say, if there are auto-scrying powers or something that a previous scene set up).
In your case, referencing the character from scene 2 at the end of scene 1 (numbered as posted in that thread) has an effect on how I see that character, initially.
Mention - then introduce in scene: So
that's the character who did X.
Introduce in scene - then mention: Ah, so that character did X. Was he aware of what he got himself into, I wonder?
I'm slightly drawn to "epic" in the first sequence, and towards "picaresque" in the second sequence; but the effect isn't that big and might not be big enough to base a decision on.