Role Playing Tips - By Johnn Four
HOW TO CREATE POWERFUL PLOT HOOKS, PART II
Tips 1-5 can be found here:issue31
6. Plan the Hook's Basics & Leave the Details Open
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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:
a) Force the PCs to do what you want
b) Scrap your plans
c) 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.
7. Use Hooks For More Than Just Plots
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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.
8. Mix-up Events That Happen to the PCs vs. Events That
Happen Around Them
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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
9. Recycle Existing Campaign Elements
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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)
10. Turn Existing Needs of the PCs Into Story Hooks
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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.
Have more fun at every game!
Johnn Four
