Plot hooks

[Teodor Kalamov]

So, the GM Guide does not have a list of plot hooks. Let the forum users create a list. To kick things off: Local farmers become worried, because bandit attacks become more frequent, and some of the bandits take people hostage.

[Maliki]

Someone or something has declared war on the Chantry itself, all across Ferelden, churches and clergy have been attacked by unknown forces.

[Brokensoul]

There is a string of murders in a small community, after the clues are found they point to only one suspect... a tranquil. How could that be? Who would frame a tranquil? Could a tranquil be a serial killer or assassin?

[caul]

Parties from Orlais are seen moving in the east. Do they intend to retake Fereldan during the chaos of the Blight?

[psychodrive]

On the border of the Korcari Wilds, a wounded templar stumbles onto the road and collapses at your feet. A rough-hewn trail extends into the swamp.

[TheDux]

A city elf, obsessed with her ancestors, tells you rumors of Aediado, The Lost City of Mithril, where a mythical metal paves the streets. Where is it? What sdo you find when you get there? A lost Elven civilization? Darkspawn hordes? Treasure beyond your dreams?

[hogscape]

For some great plot hooks, scenes and encounters, try playing the D&D Tiny Adventures on Facebook, there's some great stuff there.

The one I just looked at (with a few DA tweaks) was along the lines of:

A relic has been stolen from your local Chantry temple. The item is required to perform the rite of renewal at the coming solstice, without it the freeholders fear for their crop. The trail leads to the site of an ancient battle ground.

Is the relic being used to call something from the Fade.... Oh yes!

When the PCs find the battle site, they encounter a crazed imperial Chantry priest, digging up skeletons and dismembering them - so that they can't become vessels for demons... Sadly, it's already too late, a battle ensues and the priest is slain.

However, the priest's excavations have revealed the door to a mausoleum swallowed by the marsh and now buried beneath the earth...

[Teodor Kalamov]

Rumors tell of a few apostates that are trying to summon demons. The apostates are presumably in the Brecilian forest.

[Armath]

Someone has stolen the revered falcon from your Avvarian hold. Find your falcon, get revenge.

[Starbuck_latte]

A mysterious merchant comes to your town with goods and wares from all over Thedas. Folk are suddenly overcome with the need to buy from this man and are paying him whatever price he asks. When he leaves the next day your friends and neighbours find their children missing and their expensive purchases not so desireable

[Jekias]

A local Bann Lord has employed you to deal with a group of Bandits. He has offered to pay your group to eliminate the bandits as they have been raiding some of the farms in the area.

The truth is, the Lord is twisted and disturbed man - if the group attempts to find information out about him, the towns people wont talk to them as the Lord has them remaining silent under threat of torture and death.

The bandits are actually some of the freemen who are sick of the Lord and are trying to rouse the locals up against the Lord and to see him removed, preferably dead.

The players can either work for the Lord and kill the Bandits or discover the truth and then deal with the Lord.

[Jekias]

A madame from a Brothel in a relatively large town or city has approached the players after hearing good things about them (this would be for characters who have done some adventuring already).

She has a rather delicate issue she is seeking assistance with. One of her workers has gone missing. Ordinarily this wouldnt be an issue as this happens sometimes, but it turns out this particular worker has a rather nasty disease.

The issue is that some of her clients now have the disease and they have no idea what it is.

Reality of the situation is that it is more dire than first appears. The worker was actually bitten by some kind of creature that is corrupt (GM can use Werewolf or something like this). The worker has started transforming into this creature. It takes 7 days before the infected completely change. The first 5 days leaves the victim very ill which includes uncontrollable shaking, vomiting, sweating and delirium.

The worker has been missing for 2 days and has been infected for 4, which means in about 1 day she will completely have transformed.

Three clients have also been infected and will need to be dealt with. They range from 2 to 3 days of infection. Once transformed they will attempt to seek others out to infect.

No known cure exists, but this could be a possible plot hook in itself as the epidimic spreads - seek out a sage, find out about the infection, seek out the ingredients, make the antidote (especially if one of the players gets bitten!)

Think about a Zombie movie or one of the many that have come out at the cinema's lately and use that as some ideas.

[psychodrive]

it turns out this particular worker has a rather nasty disease

TAINT - it's the taint! cried the boy.

This would work brilliantly if the PCs investigation into the issue led them to werewolves (or otherwise) and it was actually something else (the taint, another creature).

Allow the PCs to make mistaken assumptions and (intentionally or otherwise) slaughter a pack of innocent werewolves.

Then, a few sessions later introduce the disease again and possibly another (smarter or luckier) band of adventurers who give them a guilt complex.

[Teodor Kalamov]

The local Arl is posessed by a demon of some sort and he is manipulating his servants and warriors to do evil acts.

[rschweik]

@ Jekias
@ psychodrive

nice plot idea with the sickness/transfer of sickness.

nice trik-em-up with the taint angle!!

[Dark-Madness]

People have been disapeering left and right from their homes. Each home left with a large hole in the ground/floor.

Darkspawn have been tunneling the ground thin to achieve their goals of taking captives unawares.

Will the PC's jump in and hunt them down, or be a victim to the trap as well?

[Waynethegoblin]

I actually used the following as my group's first adventure.

You awake sometime in the middle of the night to find the inn you are sleeping aflame. You attempt to escape, crashing out a window in time to see a young boy fleeing the scene. You manage to corner him, and he reveals the flaming inn is just the beginning of your troubles...

[Dark-Madness]

I actually used the following as my group's first adventure.

You awake sometime in the middle of the night to find the inn you are sleeping aflame. You attempt to escape, crashing out a window in time to see a young boy fleeing the scene. You manage to corner him, and he reveals the flaming inn is just the beginning of your troubles...

O.O Wow now that one stand out! I really want to know what happens next! lol, I will certainly use this! THANKS!

[Waynethegoblin]

I actually used the following as my group's first adventure.

You awake sometime in the middle of the night to find the inn you are sleeping aflame. You attempt to escape, crashing out a window in time to see a young boy fleeing the scene. You manage to corner him, and he reveals the flaming inn is just the beginning of your troubles...

O.O Wow now that one stand out! I really want to know what happens next! lol, I will certainly use this! THANKS!

Haha, if you'd like I could give you the run down of the first adventure! It ended up being pretty awesome, lasted somewhere around 10-12 hrs

[Rhydderch Hael]

I'd be up for hearing about it. I love reading others session sumamries/stories.

[Waynethegoblin]

Ok, the way I started it was to have the players roll to see in what order they woke up. I let them sort of react and feel it out some. One player even elected to save the barkeep, who was trapped. They all escaped with minor damage and the quickest of them trapped the young boy fleeing the scene in an alley.

My players, being slightly jerkish, alternately beat up and healed the boy until they questioned him formally. He revealed he was hired by a local guard to torch the inn, but he doesn't know why. The players took the boy along, and managed to wisely ask the barkeep they saved if there was anyplace they could stay. He recommended them to an inn on the shadier part of town.

Also, I will mention that this goes on a long while, may just make a thread. Anyway, they were in Highever, for various reasons, but now they were caught up in something a bit over their heads.

[Dark-Madness]

Yeah this is cool, make a thread, lets hear about it!

[Waynethegoblin]

New thread made, Treason In Highever, check it out!

[Lyger]

The PCs are approached by a visionary, whose latest vision tells them that a group of Templars sent to destroy an Apostate mage will instead unleash death and destruction upon an unsuspecting town. (The mage is keeping the Darkspawn at bay, and if the Templars are allowed to complete their mission, the area will be quickly overrun.) The PCs must find a way to convince the Templars to spare the Apostate, who, by virtue of their role as the town's protector, cannot leave to travel to the Circle.

[Dark-Madness]

Everywhere the characters go, they catch glimpses of a shadowy figure nearby. Who is he/she? Why are they following us?