Plot Hooks: How to Use 'Em

In this article we'll look at how to use plot hooks, those funny little devices that get players interested in your game. These are a staple for any person running a game, in any system, and I know from personal experience they can be a bit of a problem: Players don't pick up on them!

The trick to getting players to pick up on plot hooks is actually less of a trick, and that is to bombard players with so many plot hooks they can't help but notice them. This shotgun style delivery of story hooks ensures that at least a few get noticed, and gives the players a decent choice.

"But if I do that, don't I have to plan for a bunch of different adventures and quests?" Good point, and here's where the real sleight of hand comes in. You don't. One technique I've used several times is to give the players plot hooks that seem completely different, yet, once the players start investigating, it turns out all the hooks led to the same adventure, in different ways.

Now of course you shouldn't do this all the time, the players are bound to catch on, but once in a while this can break up the monotony of "go here, kill that." For example, say you've got three plot hooks the players have picked up on. 1) Wells around the area have been drying up, leaving only a few areas where water is accessible. 2) Several people have fallen ill in town from some unknown disease, and the local lord fears a plague. 3) Plant-like abominations have begun killing livestock.

Can you see the connections? Here's the adventure: Someone has been emptying the wells in order to force people to use specific water for drinking water, which he has poisoned. This poisoned water has seeped into the groundwater and has corrupted local vegetation, making it sentient. Depending on which hook the players follow, the story can take a different shape. If the players examine the wells, they might find that they've been emptied, and trace that back to the source. If they investigate the illness, they might find it poisoned, and track the poison to a seller/maker, and if the players investigate the plants, they could find the corrupted ground-water.

Plot hooks are great tools when used correctly. They can pique player interest and curiosity and mask what would otherwise be railroading. Learn what motivates your players, and use that to create your story hooks, then relentlessly bombard players with those hooks until they figure out what they want to do.

Happy gaming!