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GnomeFighter
2013-03-07, 08:59 AM
I have been trying to write a new campaign and have been racking my brains for ideas, so I had a thought, go and ask for plot hooks.

Then I had an even better idea. Start a thread for everyone else to share plot hooks. I can swipe some, add a few and we can come up with a big old list of hooks to dip in to!

Please share any ideas you have for any system (Even if you think they only work for one system they may help someone come up with ideas).

The format I suggest:

Name: Give your idea a name if you can come up with one
Setting: Let us know, is it sci fi, horror, high fantasy etc or just a generic idea
Suggested system: If it is not generic let us know the system you suggest (more important for 40k or star wars than D20 or Gerps)
Hook: Your idea.
Spin: (optional) For explicitly deviating from tropes. (Thank you MrLemon)

Silly as well as sensible ideas and suggestions welcome.

GnomeFighter
2013-03-07, 09:04 AM
I'll start:

1)

Name: Missing gear
Setting: Generic/mystery
Suggested system: Generic
Hook: You sware you put your gear safe last night... And your clothes... Good thing you sleep in a night gown/pajamas... Oh...

Silly investigation. Just don't do it on a party that thinks they are worthless without gear or a non combat plot is pointless.

Surfnerd
2013-03-07, 09:10 AM
Name: Message in a Bottle
Setting: any
Suggested System: any
Hook: The players find a message in a bottle... HELP I'm on an Island. Meet me at the Wharf at sunset.... Eat at Jo's.

Name: Medicinal Herb
Setting: any
Suggested System: Any
Hook: Shortage in an area of product X. Perhaps its a natural occurring plant or some sort of hitech pharmaceutical not readily available in region/slum/area. Players can choose to acquire it and sell for profit.

MrLemon
2013-03-07, 10:56 AM
I'll add the optional "Spin" category, for explicitly deviating from tropes.

Name: Wrong Time/wrong place
Setting: any
Suggested System: any
Hook: The party stumbles upon a shady organization by pure accident
Spin: Pure accident, is it?

Name: South by Southeast
Setting: any/modern
Suggested System: any
Hook: Someone gets mistaken for someone else and hunted

GnomeFighter
2013-03-07, 02:04 PM
Good idea! Ill add spin to the first post.

hymer
2013-03-07, 02:29 PM
Name: Loot a hook
Setting: any
Suggested System: any
Hook: Righteously (or not) looting a fallen foe leads to the discovery of an item that begs further investigation, such as a piece of jewellery with an engraving.
Spin: Hm, that looks strangely familiar...

Name: Praised onto the hook
Setting: any
Suggested System: any
Hook: A naíve NPC the PCs have helped before brags about their greatness, causing someone to want to duel the equivalent of the fastest gun in the West.
Spin: Duels, it turns out, are illegal.

Name: Call to arms
Setting: (pseudo)medieval may work best
Suggested System: any
Hook: The place where the PCs are come under attack from raiders, and all those able to wield arms are politely requested to assemble by the defences, immediately you sloth!
Spin: But we have an agreement with the boogey-men, why are they attacking us?

Name: Wanted poster
Setting: any (though the actual medium could change from a poster)
Suggested System: any
Hook: Someone did a bad, bad thing, and now there's a bounty on their heads.
Spin: But we want him alive, or there's no reward!

stupiddDice
2013-03-07, 03:03 PM
Name: This isn't Good
Setting: any with demons or equivalent
system: any that meets the above.
Hook: The PCs discover that a portal hell (or equivalent) is going to open soon, and demons will emerge and destroy everything. By their calculations this should happen... three days ago?

hymer
2013-03-07, 03:27 PM
Name: Caveat Emptor
Setting: any
Suggested System: any
Hook: Yes, you can buy that piece of equipment you’ve been looking for, and it’s surprisingly cheap. Yes, the house is haunted, the sword is stuck in a rock or the droid has a virus, and you’ll have to deal with it.
Spin: If the seller lied, you may want to track him down for a wee chat.

Name: All the king’s men
Setting: any
Suggested System: any
Hook: With all the soldiers in the far place fighting, there’s a real shortage of able soldiers, medics, scientists or whatever hereabout. How would you feel about getting drafted?
Spin: They won’t let you go. You’ll have to find a way to be allowed to leave – or flee.

Name: Prophetic dream
Setting: any with supernatural themes
Suggested System: any
Hook: All the PCs have a strangely vivid dream, and when adding the information together, it seems a warning or portent.
Spin: Dreams can be hard to interpret (which leads to…).

Name: Oracle quest
Setting: any
Suggested System: any
Hook: It’s a most perplexing mystery. Nobody knows the answer. Except the sages of Ulmathra, or the Wise Woman of Putney, or the Great Hyperlobic Omni-Cognate Neutron Wrangler of Ciceronicus Twelve.
Spin: Someone would rather you didn’t get back with the info. Someone you did not expect.

Name: Old map
Setting: any
Suggested System: any
Hook: An old map (or part of it) is discovered, inherited, received, unearthed, accidentally bought or found rolled up in the mast of a model ship. It could show the way to treasure, long lost secrets, or nobody knows what it shows – but considering how much people want to kill you to get hold of it, it must be important.
Spin: Oh you thought it was over there? It wasn’t, remember the river shifted in the mean time. But what you found the other place was just hilarious, amirite?

Seharvepernfan
2013-03-07, 03:31 PM
Name: Rescue the princess from the dragon
Setting: fantasy
Suggested System: D&D
Hook: A foreign knight approaches the party and requests their aid in rescuing a princess of his/her people/nation from a tower held by a ferocious dragon
Spin: The knight is a polymorphed dragon, as is the princess, and the "dragon" is an evil human sorceress using captured dragons in a ritual.


drag·on
[drag-uhn] Show IPA
noun
1.
a mythical monster generally represented as a huge, winged reptile with crested head and enormous claws and teeth, and often spouting fire.
2.
Archaic. a huge serpent or snake.
3.
Bible. a large animal, possibly a large snake or crocodile.
4.
the dragon, Satan.
5.
a fierce, violent person.

hymer
2013-03-07, 03:53 PM
Name: Good Afternoon, Dr. Jones
Setting: any
Suggested System: any
Hook: Your arch enemy invites you to a bar for a drink and a chat. You may or may not want to go, but you're not going to ignore that, are you?
Spin: Maybe he wants to join forces for a while, you know, enemy of my enemy? Or maybe some impostor is luring you here to get your focus on your usual suspect rather than the impostor's employer's scheme.

Kane0
2013-03-07, 04:57 PM
Name: Lesser of two evils
Setting: Any
Game System: Any
Hook: The BBEG has been displaced/deposed and needs your help getting back to the top. Why you would want to do that may vary (not the worse problem, more danger with him out of control, be able to turn him around, etc)
Twist: The BBEG actually was displaced/deposed and really IS in a bind, not simply baiting you into a trap or doing his dirty work.

Name: Not a happy chap
Setting: Any with multiple powers
Game system: Any
Hook: A god (or similar power) has returned from inprisonment/the grave to claim his rightful place and/or smite those that wronged him. And you are just the minions to do/stop this
Twist: The Power has a good reason for all this, or is not a power and has been bluffing in order to get a chance at becoming one.

hymer
2013-03-07, 05:09 PM
Name: Loose animal
Setting: any
Suggested System: any
Hook: A horse, dog, bird or similar animal is loose in the marketplace (or whereever) and is causing a stir - either because it's a big or potentially bitey animal, or because someone is running after it and not being very careful in doing so. Once the animal is reclaimed and the owner has been profusely grateful (or not), it's time to look at why the animal got loose/frightened/angry.
Spin: Maybe the animal is not a normal animal. Human turned into an animal, or it has a copy of the Death Star plans imprinted on its brain waves, or it holds tremendous symbolic/sentimental value to someone important.

Name: Left behind
Setting: any
Suggested System: any
Hook: An intriguing item (document, key, illegal drug) has been left behind in the room at the inn or similar that you just rented. Who left it here, and why?
Spin: The previous owner wants it back, and shows up and is very polite and has an innocent explanation. He makes a note of the PCs and promises to recommend them to his powerful friends/employers/contacts for their honesty. Maybe he's found dead ten minutes later.

Winds
2013-03-07, 09:43 PM
Name: A gift for services rendered
Setting: Any
Suggested System: any
Hook: You receive something useful from someone/some group higher on the food chain as a thank-you for something you did for them. Unfortunately, you now have the attention of their rival...
Spin: I don't remember doing anything to help this person/group...

Guizonde
2013-03-07, 10:13 PM
name: carnival of fools/ carnival chase
setting: mystery, chase, infiltration, improv, mood-whiplash
suggested system: tested in WHFRP, to great results
hook: you're following a band of chaos cultists (evil friggers, your choice), unfortunately you don't want their spies to figure out you're on their tail. you become an itinerant circus as a cover to keep following the trail.
spin: you're an itinerant circus. you will have to put on a show, so if you can juggle, now's the time to show off.

that was a great scenario to a very mood-whiplash heavy campaign. we're following a nurgle caravan, so we went to the village, saw some sick folks, put on the show, and asked where our "other" caravan went, so we could meet up with them... the dm, however, did have us put on the play we concocted irl... many laughs were had when pen and paper became improv theater... theeeeeeen came the plaguebearers (i did say mood-whiplash)

Fighter1000
2013-03-07, 11:21 PM
Name: Gratuitious Ruins
Setting: Medieval Fantasy
Suggested System: D&D
Idea: A mind flayer in disguise has conquered a fair amount of underground tunnel networks and now has attention set on the surface. He scares away dragon's food source in the mountains. But, he makes deal with dragon, providing his own people as a new food source for the dragon in return for protection. Dragon flies to nearby city entrance, demands a group of hardy adventurers to meet his new master, the mind flayer. Mind flayer gives party incentive to go get a Beholder to the north and bring it to him. Mind flayer rewards PCs with magic items, and gets Beholder as new ally.
Spin: The PCs might not go for this. At all.

Fighter1000
2013-03-07, 11:28 PM
Name: Sexual Assault
Setting: Modern
Suggested System: d20 Modern
Idea: One of your family members was sexually assaulted by a dude.
Spin: This dude got away with it because of his influence in the courts.

Name: Brown-Nosing Little Bastard
Setting: Modern-Day Office
Suggested System: d20 Modern
Idea: A fellow employee at Corporation X is not qualified at all for a job position everyone wants, but he gets it anyway because no one can kiss ass to the boss like he can.
Spin: You see this brown-nosing employee kill someone in an alleyway with his bare hands. You just so happen to have a camera hanging around your neck...

Fighter1000
2013-03-07, 11:38 PM
Name: The Blacksmith's Daughter
Setting: Medieval
Suggested Systems: D&D, Runequest
Idea: The blacksmith that the PCs regularly visit seems a bit on edge. If asked, he tells the PCs that he hasn't seen his daughter in 3 days. She was last seen in a tavern called, "The Wolf's Tail" which is a roadside establishment.
Spin: The blacksmith's daughter has joined a cult

Saito Takuji
2013-03-08, 12:32 AM
Name: missing gladaitors

Setting:high fantasy would be best, but any could work

Suggested system: any system

Hook: The PC's step out into an arena, expecting gladatorial games, but the stadium is completley empty, despite the cheering crowd they heard on the other side of the(now missing) door/gate

Spin: hmm actually this would be the spin on the standard gladatorial games trope

Templarkommando
2013-03-10, 12:56 AM
Name: The right of the first night
setting: High fantasy.
System: DnD systems should work
Hook: The party arrives somewhere as a peasant wedding is finishing. The priest says "You may kiss the bride," and here comes a carriage full of armed guards. They walk to the wedding party and pick up the beautiful - and now shrieking - bride and carry her back to the carriage. "You can't do this!" says the groom. The leading guard turns around and slaps the groom on the face with his gauntlet and says "Yes, I can. Baron Von Niederdorf is exercising his ancient privilege as the lord of this territory: The right of the first night. Trust me, go home and you'll have your new wife in the morning. In the meantime I expect that the Baron shall have a very lovely time tonight with your wife." The guard sneers and walks back to the carriage.

Spin: The Baron may or may not be a legitimate Baron. It's also possible that he's just a robber baron who has moved into an abandoned castle or had a mansion built for himself. In any case, that makes a nice setting for a dungeon. Also, if you want to be silly, you can have the Baron bring her to his manor so she can make him dinner. A final possibility is that the evil person in this scenario is the groom and the baron is abusing his power in order to rescue her from an evil husband.

Name: Mysterious Shop
Setting: Basically anything, but I'm going from the D&D angle
System: Whatever you want to use.
Hook: "A Pawnshop tends to get all sorts of mysterious odds and ends. This vase was stolen from a lich's tomb. It has strange markings on it and seems to be very difficult to break. We can't detect any magic on it though... This Cloak belonged to a vampire. It's still got a bit of blood smeared on it. What's this. Hmmm, there's a mysterious note inside of a pocket in the cloak! These merchant's scales belonged to a very prosperous merchant - well he was prosperous when he sold them here years ago. Now he's penniless, crazy, and all of his family members are dead. Some of the locals seem to think his success had to do with some powerful luck magic in the scales. Of course where he got it? He said something about selling his soul and staking the lives of his family as collateral. It's a bunch of hooey if you ask me."

Jay R
2013-03-11, 10:00 AM
Name: The new member of the party
Setting: fantasy
Suggested system: generic
Hook: You come upon the remains of a small battle. There are no survivors. Well, except for a baby girl, lying on a blanket nearby. There is no way to tell parentage, or even which side.
Spin: Last week, the prophet in the nearby village proclaimed that an orphan would grow up here and eventually become a witch and destroy the village. NOBODY local will take the baby.
Second spin: No, there's nothing unusual about her. She's just a problem to deal with until the party can get to a larger city (where there might be a similar prophecy).

Name: The Undiscovered Planet
Setting: SF (but see spin)
Suggested system: Ideally, a generic system like GURPS or Hero, but some modifications could make anything work.
Hook: You are on a ship investigating gravitational anomalies in an obscure star system, that turn out to be a planet that wasn't there before, and whose path is gravitationally impossible. As the ship gets close, there are multiple malfunctions, and you are forced to land. Only the party survive the crash. None of your technological items work.
Spin: The skies change - forever. Guess what - you're playing a fantasy game.