The Hook, Line & Sinkers Method Will Inspire Your Encounters
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #0778
Here’s a great way to create encounter seeds for your next game via RPT Reader Victor Diaz. It’s called the Hook, Line & Sinkers method.
From the RIFTS Adventure Book, page 38:
Hook, Line & Sinkers ™ is the popular Game Master’s tool created by Jolly Blackburn. The idea behind it is simple — give the Game Master just enough information to spark his own creative energies and then step out of the way. They come in handy when the G.M. has nothing else prepared, or finds the party has outpaced him and the prepared adventure suddenly ends.
The Explanation
Hook: The current situation or location of the adventuring party.
Line: An opportunity for adventure that presents itself to the party. A line is normally presented as a short paragraph. Think of the line as the “bait” to lure the party into an adventure.
Sinker: The clincher to the line. The sinker presents the game master with a dilemma that makes the situation a true adventure for his players.
Werewolf Example Using A Bullet Journal
Victor uses a bullet journal, which is a method of writing and tracking notes. You can use this method in Campaign Logger too. Here’s Victor’s example:
And here’s how you’d do it in Campaign Logger. The first pic is the stat block markup. The second screenshot is how it looks in Campaign Logger.
And here’s the JSON file of the stat block you can import directly into Campaign Logger.
I gotta run to the day job now. Noodle on this Hook, Line & Sinkers method today to see if you can use it to help your game prep. I have more musings to share on this later this week. See you then!