[3.5] Stuck on plot hooks.

[Drakevarg]

I've spent the last couple hours thinking about plot hooks for the weekend's session of my low-magic campaign, and it's occured to me that every single plot hook I've come up with center around a single character who rather pointedly does NOT want the rest of the party involved.

The character in question, one Nuance Pavot, is a small-time crime boss who uses his position as violinist and manager of the PC's traveling band to spread his empire. His identity as a crime boss is unknown to the party and due to his low opinion of them he wants to keep it that way. Now, I've got a nice plot going with him about someone sabotaging his organization and antagonizing the other, larger crime rings against him, but the problem is that these plots by nessecity involve him and only him.

It's when I start thinking of things to keep the others occupied that I hit a snag. Two of the PCs are explicitly just along for the ride. One, an aged ex-soldier with the ridiculous name of Rick Dom, just wants excitement in his life and travels as the band's roadie. No alterior motives whatsoever. The other, Salenia, is a hunter that joined the band as their bassist. Also no alterior motives. Boring, boring, boring.

The other three in the party aren't much better. As warlocks, all three of them have a plot hook built in right there as magic is illegal under pain of death in this setting, but only one of them, a former soldier, has any record of suspicion. He's actually in the very town where six years ago he was wanted for accidentally killing a fellow trainee when he unleashed his magic during a sparring match.

I've got a plot thread planned for that, but it requires first that the party as a whole be arrested under suspicion of their involvement of a town being completely wiped off the map by pissed off spirits. Problem is, that town is three day's travel away, and since the only person they passed on the road on their way in was on the last day, it'll be at least five days before word of the town's destruction even reaches the local authorities.

Last two are a twin brothers, raised as psycho killers since childhood. They now use the band as cover while they act as self-named "Nightmare Investigators", looking into magical events. Problem being that this is a very low-magic campaign, and the events at the aforementioned destroyed village were the first display of magic besides their own or their parents that they had ever seen in their life. It would cheapen the relevency of that fact to throw in another magical event in this town, less than a week later.

So, there you have it. I have six characters to keep occupied, two of which have no goals whatsoever, one of which who's only motivation is "don't get lynched for being a warlock" and two who's only motivation involves finding magic in a low-magic setting. I'm stuck. Halp?

[Sith_Happens]

You said that the crime boss PC does not want the rest of the party involved in his affairs. Find a way to make them be involved. Possibly involving the whole "illegal warlocks" angle. It might be interesting, for example, to have the enemy crime boss become suspicous of Nuance's companions and attempt to blackmail the entire party. Said party, especially the warlocks themselves, will want to know what the heck is going on and how they can keep the entire campaign setting from coming after them with torches and pitchforks.

[Drakevarg]

You said that the crime boss PC does not want the rest of the party involved in his affairs. Find a way to make them be involved. Possibly involving the whole "illegal warlocks" angle. It might be interesting, for example, to have the enemy crime boss become suspicous of Nuance's companions and attempt to blackmail the entire party. Said party, especially the warlocks themselves, will want to know what the heck is going on and how they can keep the entire campaign setting from coming after them with torches and pitchforks.

That's an interesting angle, which has two major problems, one of which might just become another plot point:

1) The only way anyone except a warlock can detect another warlock is if they actually use magic right in front of them. The party warlocks generally try to avoid this. Impressively, they managed to pull this off while killing a shadowy fire-ghost that can only be killed with magic.

So, if I were to have the enemy crime boss blackmail the party, he'd need some reason to even suspect them of being warlocks in the first place.

2) The non-warlocks in the party, including Nuance, are unaware that they are travelling with warlocks. Their reactions could be interesting, though, so that's not as much of a problem.

[Sith_Happens]

That's an interesting angle, which has two major problems, one of which might just become another plot point:

1) The only way anyone except a warlock can detect another warlock is if they actually use magic right in front of them. The party warlocks generally try to avoid this. Impressively, they managed to pull this off while killing a shadowy fire-ghost that can only be killed with magic.

So, if I were to have the enemy crime boss blackmail the party, he'd need some reason to even suspect them of being warlocks in the first place.

2) The non-warlocks in the party, including Nuance, are unaware that they are travelling with warlocks. Their reactions could be interesting, though, so that's not as much of a problem.

Okay, so that specific angle may or may not work right now. The general idea, however, is workable in any number of ways. After all, no matter how much Nuance wants to keep the others out of his business, as long as he's travelling with them they're going to get mixed up in it eventually. It might as well be now.

[Drakevarg]

Okay, so that specific angle may or may not work right now. The general idea, however, is workable in any number of ways. After all, no matter how much Nuance wants to keep the others out of his business, as long as he's travelling with them they're going to get mixed up in it eventually. It might as well be now.

True enough. I'll think on it.

On the other hand, Nuance being alone is handy right now due to the pseudo-Tyler Durden I've got running around to **** with him.

I almost want to just instigate a TPK and tell the players to roll characters with actual goals.

[Kobold Esq]

Everyone loves a hit squad.

Forget blackmail. Just send a bunch of low level mooks at them. Make it clear the attack makes NO SENSE. They aren't trying to rob them. They are in an otherwise safe town. There is no reason for a band of musicians to be attacked.

Have something on a body that suggests who hired them. Or maybe a note describing the band and telling them they are all wanted dead "including the manager."

Maybe leave something that the crime boss might recognize as being a mark of the other crime groups. If the players have hidden their abilities well, it is reasonable to think that the other crime groups will underestimate them in the first attack.

Heck, maybe the other criminal organization was expecting it to fail, and it was just a "warning shot."

[Drakevarg]

Everyone loves a hit squad.

Hit squad was coming with breakfast right at the beginning of the next campaign, actually. Though it was going to be the result of the mysterious enemy's attempt to antagonize the larger crime rings against Nuance's organization, by burning down their buildings and making it look like Nuance's lackeys did it.

That would make the rest of the party interested in what the hell was going on, though. Especially if the warlocks figured the hit was against them and not Nuance.

[Sith_Happens]

True enough. I'll think on it.

On the other hand, Nuance being alone is handy right now due to the pseudo-Tyler Durden I've got running around to **** with him.

I almost want to just instigate a TPK and tell the players to roll characters with actual goals.

Aha, I thought you were the one asking about that on a different thread (which I didn't bother to actually look up to confirm it).

If this is a fairly RP-heavy campaign, then that idea might be reasonable.


Hit squad was coming with breakfast right at the beginning of the next campaign, actually. Though it was going to be the result of the mysterious enemy's attempt to antagonize the larger crime rings against Nuance's organization, by burning down their buildings and making it look like Nuance's lackeys did it.

That would make the rest of the party interested in what the hell was going on, though. Especially if the warlocks figured the hit was against them and not Nuance.

Perfect. The warlocks are presumably all extremely paranoid people (for obvious reasons), and will likely mistake any flashy actions against Nuance's person as targeting them. In which case he'll have some 'splaining to do, as will the warlocks if Nuance suspects their suspicions.


If I were to have the enemy crime boss blackmail the party, he'd need some reason to even suspect them of being warlocks in the first place.

Based on the description and MO of the enemy crime boss, it would make sense for him to be an Unseen Seer (Complete Mage, pg. 81). Given the particular place of magic in your setting, this would also add a whole new mysterious and menacing layer to his character if the party ever found out. And of course, they couldn't just take the easy way out by alerting the rest of the world to his being a caster, because then he would do the same to them.

[ClockShock]

If their characters don't have a backstory. You get to make it up.

One of the goaless characters runs into a jilted former lover - who is only ever more offended when the goaless character doesn't remember them at all (and if they DO remember them, you've got your player hooked into it already).

Maybe the former lover is wrapped up in a street gang of thugs that cause some trouble. Or perhaps they have some influence with the mayor, who demands some show of good faith so the band proves that they're not the troublemakers the former lover says they are.

Bonus points for making the former lover a Satyr.

[true_shinken]

All Aboard Psycho's Railroad!

[Sith_Happens]

If their characters don't have a backstory. You get to make it up.

One of the goaless characters runs into a jilted former lover - who is only ever more offended when the goaless character doesn't remember them at all (and if they DO remember them, you've got your player hooked into it already).

Maybe the former lover is wrapped up in a street gang of thugs that cause some trouble. Or perhaps they have some influence with the mayor, who demands some show of good faith so the band proves that they're not the troublemakers the former lover says they are.

Bonus points for making the former lover a Satyr.

And of course he/she should bring up the childhood marriage promise (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ChildhoodMarriagePromise) that the goalless character may or may not remember making.

...And don't forget the bountry hunters trying to bring in the goalless character for a crime that he/she may or may not remember committing.

...Or the mysterious contact that keeps alluding to events from the goalless character's past that he/she may or may not remember.

...All of which takes place because the party is hanging out in the goalless character's hometown, which he/she may or may not remember is such.

If you're going to make up a character's backstory on the fly, you might as well go whole hog just to see the player's reaction at suddenly having to RP so much stuff at once.