A pleadful message

[McMindflayer]

I have to run a Dnd game tommarow. the problem is I can't think of any good plot hooks. I mean, I know I can make a "Dragon stole our great gem! Get it back for us" Kind of campaign... but that just isn't that interesting. I was hoping for something simple and interesting. Maybe at twist on the example above.

So Plead with Gitper's... Give me a plot hook!

[Greyen]

Orc slavers raiding villages. Must get villagers back is a good one for level 1.

[Darkantra]

What level is the party? That's the real deciding factor.

[McMindflayer]

As long as it doesn't go into Epic area, I'll be fine. So It could be a level 1 or level 13. This is more for a one shot 3-6 hours of fun. Hence the simple.

[brian c]

What level? How about something somewhat unusual, like bugbears or a troll raiding party? Trolls obviously for a higher EL, but bugbears can be adapted for any CR by adding class levels (ranger and barbarian work best, or warrior for NPC levels).

Here's another idea: there's been a strange beast(s) spotted and villagers are terrified. Turns out to be some sort of dinosaur, so the PCs need to hunt it/them down, and then you have a new plot hook of "why they hell are there dinosaurs here?" (unless you're in Chult), so you need a wizard to have done it. A great dino to use, if you have MM3, is the fleshraker. CR2, but it should be higher, deadly effective ambusher and a couple of them could easily TPK a 3-5th level party, if they get a surprise round.

[random11]

You enter the hall, and somehow manage to find a spot between the crowd.
You look around. You don't see many familiar faces other then the ones that came from your guild.

Finally, you see an official go on the stand. He waits a bit until the noise is bearable, and starts to talk:

"As you know, the demon army is moving closer.
It is still far from our kingdom, and it's moving slow, but nothing seems to stop him.
For months, every hero in the land is out there, trying to slow the army and gather more information about the threat. So far we knew only that the enemy is unstoppable not because of the undead soldiers, but because of the demon leader. Nothing seems to touch him. No arrow will pierce his skin, no sword can cut it, and even the strongest magic bounces back.

Three weeks ago, we had a breakthrough.
A sage discovered that only weapons that were created out of our world will harm him.

So while the experienced soldiers are out there slowing the demon, we called you. Every apprentice, acolyte, and capable sword man we could find in such a short time.
Your goal is to chase dreams. You will follow every myth and story that describes a weapon, try to find if it really exists, and retrieve it at every cost.

We have a list of all the stories we could find in the library, and we will distribute them according to your skills.
In case we survive this demonic attack, all of you who brought a weapon or news about it, will be greatly rewarded, even if it won't the one used against him."



------

This setting is good for first levels.
It gives a good reason why low level heroes are selected by the government, gives you total freedom about what and where they will go, and also supplies a good excuse of why people with different skills and background join together in a group.
You are also free to choose if it will be a long running campaign or something short.

[Leadfeathermcc]

Big List of RPG Plots (http://www.io.com/~sjohn/plots.htm)

[McMindflayer]

... I'm in love with Random111... or at least his/her plot. It is simple, can be used if I wanted to continue it or just make it a single one. and it even has a small twist on a old used cliche ("There is a giant monster attacking us. and we can't defeat it... Luckily we have a boy with a magic sword and determination.) The twist, of course, is that isntead of it happening by accident, they are TRYING to pull it off.

I love it. Thank you all for your ideas, (I am sooo gonna use Brian C's idea involving the wizard who did it at a later time.)

[Talic]

PC's arrive at a town where everyone boards the windows and goes inside at dusk. Every night, the dead rise up out of their graves, and attack any unfortunate souls unlucky enough to be near the town. Skeletons, Zombies, and the occasional ghoul beset the town, clawing at windows and doors... No matter how many are killed, more keep arising. The PC's need to figure out why, and lay to rest the malignant spirit that is powering this scourge.

As to why the ghost is doing this? Well, that's your concern. I just supply the zombie invasions.

[Leadfeathermcc]

I didn't check that list.. cause well... it might have this then I wouldn't have a reason to say sometime.

One of my favorites is a variant of

"oh my merchant trader spouse has not sent word of their safety! please find word of him/her for me"


The list is nice for giving you new options, as well and new ways to use old options.


Manhunt

Someone is gone: they've run away, gotten lost, or simply haven't called home in a while. Somebody misses them or needs them returned. The PCs are called in to find them and bring them back.
Common Twists & Themes: The target has been kidnapped (possibly to specifically lure the PCs). The target is dangerous and escaped from a facility designed to protect the public. The target is valuable and escaped from a place designed to keep him safe, cozy, and conveniently handy. The target has a reason for leaving that the PCs will sympathize with. The target has stumbled across another adventure (either as protagonist or victim), which the PCs must then undertake themselves. The missing "person" is an entire expedition or pilgrimage of some kind. The target isn't a runaway or missing/lost - they're just someone that the PCs have been hired to track down (possibly under false pretenses).

[Roderick_BR]

A twist on a classic hook.
The group finds about a plot to assassinate some local authority (the kind, the local mayor, some important lord, whatever).
If the PCs can stop it and take the responsible to the guard, they'll be rewarded by the king.
Make the PCs the king's official elite troop for the city, and put them facing threats to the place (invasions, epidemies, corruption).
Yeah, that's inspired in the Legion of Super Heroes plot (DC Comics)
As authority, they have access to special equipment, can give orders to the local troops, and even have their own fort (my group bough a fort once, when they received a piece of land as reward, it was interesting to see how they set the place) and their own troops if they take the leadership feat.

[Serpentine]

PC's arrive at a town where everyone boards the windows and goes inside at dusk. Every night, the dead rise up out of their graves, and attack any unfortunate souls unlucky enough to be near the town. Skeletons, Zombies, and the occasional ghoul beset the town, clawing at windows and doors... No matter how many are killed, more keep arising. The PC's need to figure out why, and lay to rest the malignant spirit that is powering this scourge.

As to why the ghost is doing this? Well, that's your concern. I just supply the zombie invasions.
Similar to this is one I read in a Dungeon. To summarize, a couple of idiot kids stumbled upon an ancient druidic grove. Its protective spirit/creature turns up and kills one of them, while the other manages to escape with the corpse. Unfortunately, spilling blood in the grove begins an ancient rite, and the creature is bound to see its completion - specifically, that the body be placed on a stone slab in the centre of the grove.
When the party turns up, what they know is that everyone's scared, and every night this creature stalks around the place, killing anyone that gets in its way, and hanging around the grave yard. If it's killed, it just comes back the next night. The party first has to figure out why it's there, and then has to convince the town to give up the body - or something like that. Of course, even if they manage that, there's then the matter of what exactly the ritual does...

[Sleet]

The hook: As the PCs come to, they realize they're standing over the dead body of the king, and they're holding blood-drenched swords. The captain of the guard has just come into the room, and shouts "By the gods, what have you done?!!"

The adventure: Figure out what you did, and why, without getting thrown in the dungeon or summarily executed first.

[MrNexx]

What alignment are your players likely to play? Do you have a group that consistently chooses evil?

[Epic_Wizard]

Whatever you do I would suggest something in the "sweet spot" between 10 and around 14th level. Bellow that the party is to restricted to make a good 1 off campaign. Above that things start to become broken and you will run into all sorts of problems.

Also while Random111's plot looks really nice his grammar forced a Fortitude save :smalleek: