Plot Hooks

[bsmith23 696]

Perhaps we can use this space for a collection of plot hooks for us folks who are having writer's block?  I'm looking for anything to get started, even storylines from older editions.

[faolannus 4]

There was a rather large selection of hooks in the old 4e corebook I’d definitely start there for some options 

[ExplodingJoe 131]

This was the original plot hook I used to kick off the very first season of my current game:

Asako Itsumi, an Emerald Magistrate of some notoriety, invites the players to her winter court. Her intent is to pull together a group of promising young samurai, and test if they are willing or able to serve the Empire's defense through her clandestine network, beneath the notice of their lords. However, Itsumi's enemies mean to complicate her recruitment attempts and have placed a killer among the young samurai.

This arc follows a Topaz championship as well as it does introduce new characters. The original NPC list in court was as follows:

Hida Mura: An uncomfortable friendly Crab bushi, who treats service on the wall as proof that he should be a welcomed brother anywhere.

Bayushi Shinroku: A Soshi shugenja who pretends to be a bushi, never casting spells out loud. He is genuinely concerned that the other attending samurai are too naïve to survive a professional infiltrator.

Kitsuki Ren: An investigator who delivers cold facts through an unsettlingly blank smile, and flat-but-cheery demeanor.

Doji Mizu and Kakita Satsuke: A delicate artist and her bored yojimbo.

Utaku Sachi: A capable warrior, confused over her invitation and awkward in court.

My first game had a slant toward the Lion clan, so I didn't represent them much since my PCs were doing that. This is loosely based on an old 4E pitch - the killer is a changing demon, who has assumed the identity of one of the NPCs after murdering the original. The demon should strike before court starts to set the stakes, with the implication that the coming snows have trapped them with it.

If Shinroku is not chosen to be the demon, he will realize that he is the chief suspect out of those gathered and disappear. From then on out he'll use a combination of stealth and air spells to stay hidden, but leave clues for the PCs. This game is a standard Who-done-it? with the opportunity to add some claustrophobic horror. Follow-up games now include the opportunity that Asako Itsumi may try to pull strings to take the PCs away from their primary duty as a political favor. She is mainly interested with cleaning the empire's dirty laundry, and maintaining peace, by halting inconvenient political maneuvers and punishing corruption.

[Hida Jitenno 586]

One hook that I used to bring people of different clans together was invitations from a nakado.

It's a good reason to get multiple clans worth of samurai together, and they don't all have to have the same goal. If they've already taken blissful/bitter betrothals, they could participate as yojimbo or courtier representatives of their clan. If they are shugenja, they could have been sent to be the officiant if their Clan's samurai was ultimately selected.

And then the Rain of Blood happens, and there's Maho everywhere, and...

So it can be a good hook to lead a varied party together without "you meet in a sake house" or "So you are just became magistrates..."

[bsmith23 696]

1 hour ago, faolannus said:

There was a rather large selection of hooks in the old 4e corebook I’d definitely start there for some options 

Cool. I'm not sure if i have a copy of that, I'll have to hunt one down.

[faolannus 4]

On 10/23/2018 at 10:56 AM, bsmith23 said:

Cool. I'm not sure if i have a copy of that, I'll have to hunt one down.

When i get home i'll see if i can post them

 

[faolannus 4]

Typical Campaigns

• Magistrates
• Imperial Legionnaires 
• Shadowlands
• Arbiters/Regents
• Imperial Cartographers/Scouts
• Band of Brothers
• Restricted (to clans, towns, etc)
• Rank 0 Campaigns

Some Plot Hooks

• Abduction
• Adultery
• All Sacrificed for Passion
• Ambition
• Conflict with a God
• Crimes of Love
• Daring Enterprise
• Deliverance
• Disaster
• Discovery of Dishonor of a Loved One
• An Enemy Loved
• Enigma
• Familial Hatred
• Familial Rivalry
• Fatal Imprudence
• Faulty Judgement
• Involuntary Crimes of Love
• Loss of Loved ones
• Kinsman kills unrecognized Kinsman
• Madness
• Mistaken Jealousy
• Murderous Adultery
• Obstacles to Love
• Obtaining (object or something?)
• Pursuit
• Recovery of a Lost One
• Remorse
• Revenge
• Revolt
• Rivalry between superior and inferior
• sacrifice of loved ones
• self sacrifice for an ideal
• self sacrifice for kindred
• supplication
• vengeance by family upon family
• victim of cruelty or misfortune

[KveldUlfr 75]

The GM section in 4th just uses The 36 Dramtic Situations. Enjoy.