101 Unusual Adventure Hooks

[Random Axe]

A more modern-based setting

I re-read the OP, and didn't see any restriction for or against fantasy settings only. Therefore I present one of my own adventure openings:

29) You receive an email posted from a distant regional newspaper. The sender's email address is unknown and from a generic server. The newspaper story that is being shared is about a local death under mysterious circumstances, of a non-local person that you / your party has had good dealings with in the recent past.

 

[Grogg of the North]

30) After traveling with a caravan for a while, the party discovers a fortune teller among them. When they ask to have their fortunes told, every card the fortune teller draws is the Death card.

31) You wake up in an inn room. You have no recollection of how you got there or where you are. There is a dead humanoid here. The room, your clothes and hands are covered in blood. Suddenly an angry shout is heard outside the door and the door rattles against its hinges as someone bangs against it. You have only a few moments before the door gives way....

32) Your party is contacted by the local government/guild. Strange creatures/animals that are not from the area have been seen by caravans along the road to town. You've been tasked to go out and investigate and, if possible, retrieve one alive.

33) The party wakes up in a forest with no memory of how they got there. Each of you has a small arrow in your body. As you begin to explore the surrounding area a fey appears and asks "Where do you think you're going?"

 

[cavalier973]

#34. While enjoying a meal in the local tavern, the party strikes up a conversation with another customer, who is witty and urbane. Several times during the meal, the customer takes action that ensures that people other than the party know of his presence (he asks someone at a nearby table to pass the salt, etc.). The party agree to meet with the customer the next day in the same tavern, at which point the customer promises to relate some information that would interest them. The next day, however, the customer never shows. When the party inquires about him, they are told by everyone that the customer didn't exist; that the party never interacted with anyone but themselves. One of the party members finds something that conspicuously belonged to the customer (a pair of ornate gloves, a beer stein with the customer's symbol or name) hidden under a table or behind a cabinet.

 

[Evilhalfling]

# 35 You smell smoke.
your hear a man rushing by out side yelling "Fire" It seems to be spreading from multiple locations all over the city.

 

[SkredlitheOgre]

36. On their way back into town from the latest adventure, the group finds all traffic through the gate slowed down by a band of Dwarves hard at work uprooting the cobble stones from the road and laying them down to make the road through town straight. If the party tries the other gates, they find the same thing.

(I'm using that one in my Pathfinder campaign right now.)

37. The party is contracted to "deal with" a mage who, after a hit on the head, his spells come out completely different than he intends. Was it simply the hit on the head or is there something more...sinister going on?

 

[cavalier973]

38. The adventurers enter a village which they have not visited before. They hear a shrill cry: "That's them!", and are immediately beset by a crowd of angry children, waving sticks and throwing rocks. Looking around, the adventurers see no adults in sight.

 

[Quickleaf]

39. While relaxing at the local swimming hole the PCs notice several drunk locals getting into a fight (maybe their nieces, nephews, or cousins are involved) with a clan of Vistani / nomads regarding an alleged theft. The PCs also notice some of their common gear - though nothing iron - is missing. Could the stories of nixies in the pool be true? Is a clever thief scapegoating the "gypsies"? Has one of the PC's younger relatives fallen into debt at "gypsy dice" and is afraid to fess up? Or could there be a stranger explanation?

 

[Lady Chaomii]

40. A cyborg (or magitech equivalent) unicorn covered in tree-sap falls out of the sky in front of the PCs. Upon investigation they discover she has no memories, and has no idea who she is or how she came to be.

 

[Jon_Dahl]

41. BBEG is a look-a-like of one of the PCs. Kobold underlings of the BBEG grovel at his/her feet and villagers think that he/she is simply a poorly disguised BBEG...

 

[Janx]

42) After crossing a river, the PCs come across a village. Every NPC there looks like somebody the PCs have killed before. The NPCs claim not to recognize the PCs, and they all seem to be getting along peacefully.