Roleplaying Tips Weekly E-Zine Issue #32: How To Create Powerful Plot Hooks, Part II _______________________________________________________ ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ SENT BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY With Compliments From: Johnn Four, http://www.roleplayingtips.com mailto:feedback@roleplayingtips.com CONTENTS: --> A Brief Word From Johnn --> This Week's Tips Summarized --> How To Create Powerful Plot Hooks, Part II --> Reader's Tip Of The Week: Plot Hook Tips --> Privacy Policy, Sub/Unsub & Contact Information _______________________________________________________ ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ THIS WEEK'S TIPS SUMMARIZED HOW TO CREATE POWERFUL PLOT HOOKS, PART II ------------------------------------------ 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 _______________________________________________________ ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ A BRIEF WORD FROM JOHNN I had a few plot hook sites recommended to me this week. Thanks! Here is a simplified breakdown of every possible plot type: http://www.io.com/~sjohn/plots.htm Listings of interesting fantasy genre hooks: http://web.cs.ualberta.ca/%7Ewade/HyperDnd/Encounters/ http://www.basementgames.com/forge/tales/ This one's cool. It randomly generates hooks. It gives silly results but there's the odd gem for the serious GM: http://www.lifeformz.com/idea/idea.cgi And thanks to a suggestion from Dr. Nukem, I have changed the font size in the archives section. Back issues should be easier to read now: http://www.roleplayingtips.com/archives.html Johnn _______________________________________________________ ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ HOW TO CREATE POWERFUL PLOT HOOKS, PART II Tips 1-5 can be found here: http://www.roleplayingtips.com/issue31.html 6. 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: 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 ------------------------------------- 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 ------------------------------------------------------- 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 ------------------------------------- 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 --------------------------------------------------- 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 any plot hook tips to share? Send them along to: mailto:feedback@roleplayingtips.com Have more fun at every game! Johnn Four _______________________________________________________ ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ READER'S TIP OF THE WEEK: Plot Hook Tips A good "plot hook" does two things: 1) grabs the PC's attention, and 2) allows the PC to use his/her character's abilities and his own ideas to solve a problem. The use of plot hooks depends on my familiarity with the gaming group. If we've gamed together, I use something in a past adventure to hook them, and it works every time. The other method I'll mention (I can't give away all my tricks!) is this: I always "interview" players before the game starts, to get a feel for what the player wants to do with the character. Then, after getting with all the players I take a few minutes to go over game notes, adventure plots, and the player's "desires" for character development. Then I devise personalized "secret" past experiences for each character, and also secret goals or journeys for each. There is no greater "plot hook" than a secret, special interest for a character, and when an adventure offers a chance for all the characters to realize their own secret goal, it NEVER fails that all characters jump on that chance. Then, after a few games they realize that all their secret goals are mutually exclusive, the result is interesting and always a great gaming night that the players (and GM) can sit back and enjoy ;) - Casey Varner Dare _______________________________________________________ ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ MY PRIVACY POLICY & HOW TO SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE "Roleplaying Tips Weekly" is provided to you free of charge by RoleplayingTips.com. It is sent only to those who have specifically requested to receive it. My subscriber list has never been and never will be available to any third party. EVER! Your privacy is very important to me, therefore it receives the respect it deserves. SUBSCRIBE TO "ROLEPLAYING TIPS WEEKLY" mailto:subscribe@roleplayingtips.com UNSUBSCRIBE FROM "ROLEPLAYING TIPS WEEKLY" mailto:unsubscribe@roleplayingtips.com SUBMISSIONS Submissions & Articles may be sent to: mailto:submissions@roleplayingtips.com Copyright İ 2000, Johnn Four, RoleplayingTips.com. All Rights Reserved. email: mailto:feedback@roleplayingtips.com web site: http://www.roleplayingtips.com