Roleplaying Tips

• This Week's Tips Summarized
• A Brief Word From Johnn
• This Week's Tips: How To Create Powerful Plot Hooks, Part II
• Reader's Tip Of The Week: Plot Hook Tips

6. Plan the Hook's Basics & Leave the Details Open
7. Use Hooks For More Than Just Plots
8. Mix-up Events That Happen to the PCs vs. Events That Happen Around Them
9. Recycle Existing Campaign Elements
10. Turn Existing Needs of the PCs Into Story Hooks

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1. Plan the Hook's Basics & Leave the Details Open
   
   Players enjoy feeling they are in control of the story and their character's actions. If you need to have the PCs do something specific or go to a certain place in order to trigger a hook then you're setting yourself up for some heavy stress. Because, if the players do not do what you need them to do then you only have three choices:
   
   1. Force the PCs to do what you want
   2. Scrap your plans
   3. Adapt your plans
   
   Option c) is the best and by creating just the basics of your hook you will be able to adapt much easier.
   
   For example:
   
   • the party takes a wrong turn and witnesses a duel-to-the- death between two lords
     
     
   • a PC's relative contacts her about a sickness in the family
     
     
   • A PC finds an old map, encoded for secrecy
   
   I would actually prepare a few more details about each hook beforehand, such as who the lords are, the nature of the sickness, the contents and code of the map, etc. But for our example here today you can see how each hook can happen at any time in almost any place.
   
   With this technique, your job of integrating them into your campaign is so much easier now.
   
   

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2. Use Hooks For More Than Just Plots
   Hooks are a great tool to direct the course of play. Because they attract attention, create interest and generate action you can use them in a number of different ways:
   
   • introduce a world, or a special part of it
   • introduce a campaign
   • introduce a story
   • introduce an encounter
   • begin a game session and focus the players' attention
   
   In other words, use a rousing hook to launch any aspect of your gaming and start things off on the right foot.
   
   

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3. Mix-up Events That Happen to the PCs vs. Events That Happen Around Them
   
   There's two kinds of plot hook events:
   
   1. Active: events that happen directly to the PCs
   2. Passive: events that happen in the background and draw the PCs in
   
   Players always enjoy games where things are happening around them and they have the responsibility of creating or choosing their own adventures.
   
   They also enjoy having exciting things suddenly happen to their characters and being swept up into a great adventure.
   
   So, use both active and passive hooks in your games at different times. This technique will add a sense of realism and depth to your world. It will also help your players enjoy your game even more.
   
   Active plot hook examples (events that happen to the PCs):
   
   • character catches a thief's hand in his pocket
   • party is attacked
   • party's inn is lit on fire
   • character's master gives PCs a quest
   • PC has inherited an item that has special significance
   
   Passive plot hook examples (events that happen around the PCs):
   
   • a riot
   • excited rumours of a gold rush in the south
   • a public trial
   • a festival
   • the party sees a group of adventurers heading out of town
     
     
   
   

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4. Recycle Existing Campaign Elements
   
   It's tough constantly creating new people, places and things. Keeping track of it all is also challenging. So, instead of creating new game elements for your hooks, try using existing ones. This also has the marvelous side-effect of adding great depth to your game and world over time.
   
   Examples of existing campaign elements you can recycle:
   
   • Family members & friends (i.e. they pass on rumours, get kidnapped, are robbed)
     
     
   • Places the PCs have already visited (i.e. their favorite inn becomes a victim of arson)
     
     
   • Places the PCs have heard about (and the more hooks you add to a place the more likely the PCs will choose to eventually go there)
     
     
   • Monsters and monster types already encountered (i.e. rumours of a mutated ogre, revenge of the orcs)
     
     
   • Items the PCs have (i.e. a torch--from when the character was created and will probably never ever be erased from his character sheet :-) --is discovered to be hollow and contains...)
     
     
   • Items the PCs have encountered (i.e. that boring old magic dagger they sold last week was just found buried in the police chief's chest)
   
   

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5. Turn Existing Needs of the PCs Into Story Hooks
   
   It's much easier to help your players choose the path you would like by combining something they currently need with a plot hook.
   
   Examples of PC needs:
   
   • healing
   • information from an expert
   • revenge
   • a present for a fellow party member's upcoming birthday
   • equipment
   • a new skill
   • family
   • job/income
   
   Perhaps the doctor the PCs seek has mysteriously disappeared. Or the sage will trade her information for a service from the PCs. Or, the arms master will only accept new students who have passed "the test". Or, the father-in- law will agree to co-sign the loan for the party to buy new equipment but suddenly a rock comes crashing through the window with a strange note attached to it...
   
   If you can work mundane events into interesting plots hooks that lead the PCs into your plans, the flow of play will seem more natural and your game world will feel more realistic.
   
   

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