Adventure Hooks
You grab your players' interest in an adventure by appealing to the psychology of their characters. For instance, a character obsessed with locating his or her true parents will obviously respond well to an enigmatic note found in the attic of the hero's ancestral home. If you involve one hero in the scenario, the rest of the group will probably tag along just to be friendly. But beware of activating their own contrary psychological traits (in the example above, a hero who says, "I refuse to help you dredge up past scandals!").
Here are a few tried-and-true adventure hooks:
The Challenge |
| A remote-controlled plane
writes smoky letters in the sky above Manhattan: "TRICKERY CANNOT
HELP THIS TIME, (name of hero group). MEET TONIGHT AT OUR LAST BATTLE
SITE OR ADMIT YOUR COWARDICE"—and, of course, the skywritten note
is signed by your archvillain.
The challenge leads all the evening newscasts and makes the front page of the paper's evening edition. Maybe the heroes don't feel like walking into a trap just at that moment, so they pass up the challenge. But the next day the skywriting challenge gets nastier. And the day after that ... The heroes become laughingstocks. Sooner or later they get fed up with the humiliation, and they launch themselves into your scenario, ready to pummel the taunting villain. Obviously, the challenge can take some form besides skywriting. Each form varies in its public exposure, nastiness, and allure. Aim for the dramatic. |
The Dying Delivery |
| A hero is on patrol,
appearing at a posh charity function, or just lounging around the public
HQ. In staggers a mysterious figure. The man (or woman or child or
alien) mumbles a few words, hands the hero a clue, and perishes. The clue or dying words should tell
the hero where to start investigating this mystery. The victim may have
named his or her killer, or the assassin's employer, or maybe a loved
one who should be informed of the death.
For a twist, the victim might have a completely wrong idea of the killer's identity. This leads the hero on a wild goose chase to the wrong villain, but the chase uncovers another evil scheme. By defeating that scheme, the hero group somehow uncovers evidence that points to the victim's true killer. Complicating the investigation, whoever killed the victim now wants the clue in the hero's possession. Naturally, he or she will stop at nothing to get it.... |
Enigmatic Figure |
| Create an NPC who is sure
to fascinate your heroes. The NPC shows up from time to time (perhaps in
earlier adventures) for no apparent reason, manifesting strange
powers—perhaps powers identical to a hero's! The hero group,
intrigued, looks into the mystery and discovers a villain's plot.
Who is the NPC? Some ideas: 1. The villain's agent, luring the heroes to their doom. Heroes should become suspicious of the NPC's actions before that doom strikes. 2. The villain's hostage, who keeps escaping-but never quite long enough to get to the heroes. 3. A freelance hero, fighting against the villain and trying to warn the hero group about the scheme. 4. The ghost of one of the villain's victims. This option is best suited to heroes who have psychic or magic powers. 5. The villain's ally or dependent, who is caught between love or duty and worry over the villain's scheme. This character either dies at the villain's hands by the grand finale or is rescued by the heroes and becomes a dangling subplot for future adventures. |
Evidence is Uncovered |
| After some lengthy time, new evidence in an important criminal case has appeared, or a key witness has blown back into town. The statute of limitations runs out in an absurdly brief time, so contacts in law enforcement enlist the heroes' aid to locate and protect the witness or evidence. It goes without saying that some evildoer has also learned of the new evidence and works to prevent the heroes from achieving their goal. One way to give this hook some emotional momentum is to make the evidence capable of freeing a hero's long time friend or childhood buddy from unjust imprisonment. Conversely, the evidence might put away a hero's long time foe for good. |
|
A Friend is Imperilled |
| This adventure hook resembles the "Help Friend or Ally" in the Goals section. Here the friend's predicament is easily handled, but proves to be a lead-in to a larger plot. In campaign terms, this hook gives you an excuse to bring in a recurring NPC, perhaps to foreshadow a major later development. |
Grim Necessity |
| "Get involved or die!" A longtime foe has poisoned the heroes, cursed them, or framed them. If they don't achieve the adventure's goal, it's curtains for the heroes and maybe the free world. |
Heroes for Hire |
| The heroes may be employed
to prevent the villain's plot, or working a job that is directly
endangered when the scheme is sprung. Most hero groups don't need to take
odd jobs to make ends meet. But your heroes may be willing to take on a
particular job for reasons besides money. For example:
Compassion. The heroes must carry a vital donor organ to a dying patient far away. Nobody but the heroes can make the journey fast enough. Prestige. An extremely high-brow embassy party will attract the movers and shakers of world government. The heroes may volunteer to guard against terrorists just so they can make connections with partygoers and get their pictures on the Daily Bugle's society pages. Glamour or recreation. The heroes might play bodyguards to rock star Lila Cheney or another celebrity on a world tour. Who wouldn't take a job like that? Similarly, many high security courier jobs take the heroes to the world's most luxurious watering holes. This is a good hook if you want to take your players to some exotic foreign locale. Social duty. Suppose a touring exhibition of priceless artwork is arriving at the Met or another museum. Somebody has to guard them while the exhibits are set up. Can your heroes refuse a heartfelt request from the museum's curator? |
Mistaken Identity |
| In this classic adventure
hook, the hero is seen robbing banks, mugging old ladies, sabotaging
public events, and acting generally discreditable. Of course, the real
miscreant is an impostor, and the impersonation is all part of an evil
plot. But no one believes it except the hero's group.
The hero gets a lead when someone in the villain's employ mistakes the hero for the impostor (confused?). The henchman drops a clue to the hero, and that is the avenue into the adventure. The villain often turns out to be the hero's oldest enemy. By ruining the hero's public image, the villain takes gloating revenge for past defeats. And who is the impostor? Perhaps a robot. Perhaps an ordinary agent with high-tech gadgetry that simulates the hero's powers. Perhaps another hero with similar powers, whom the villain has kidnapped and brainwashed. |
Pushing their Buttons |
| When all else fails, bluntly manipulate the heroes' beliefs and emotions. Find out what one of the PC heroes hates above all else-killing innocents, for example, or persecuting mutants, or beating children. Then have a villain do that very thing, right before the hero's eyes. Inevitably the hero pursues the villain right into the adventure. |
| GM's Guide | Character Types | Telling Stories |
| Story Resolution | Goals | Villains' motives and methods |
| Adventure Hooks | NPCs | Dilemmas |
| Deathtraps | Preparing Campaigns | Running the Campaign |
| Bad GMing |