Character Hooks

[Hand of Graz'zt]

I am currently preparing a player's handout for my new 4e campaign. In order to assist them with character development I wish to give them a list of character hooks - similar to that suggested in a recent Dragon article.

I have prepared a number below, please critique and edit my atrocious writing as well as suggest your own. They are not intended to be crunch, purely wispy pieces of fluff to ignite the imagination.

If any of them seem like a waste of space by all means say so.

My players range from die-hard gamers to first timers ready to burst their D20 cherry.

Here is what I have so far:

Detective
Sent by your order/noble you have arrived in Malenter Vale to investigate rumours of <xxxxx>. Like all areas in these dark times you will need to integrate yourself with the towns and overcome their suspicion of outsiders in order to gain their confidence so you can complete your mission.

Indebted
Times have been tough for your family, whether it be a small mining venture, trading house or a once great noble family that has fell on hard times and needed the assistance of another party to help them through the tough days. Unfortunately, the streak of bad luck continues and unless you can raise the funds soon, your family may face complete ruin (or worse!). Turning to the life of an adventurer you hope to raise your family name (or business) to the heights it belongs.

My Sword, Squire!
Eye of Newt, Spiders Leg
Family Man
The Eager Student
You have longed to join this knightly order, now that you have learnt the rudiments of your chosen profession, you are ready to petition for membership.
OR
You have longed to join this guild of magi, secret society or dark coven of warlocks. Now, through long study and great sacrifice you are ready to petition for membership.
OR
Silent steps and unseen deeds have lead you to this brotherhood, the life of crime is the only way for you.
OR
Whether it be a swordsman of great skill or mage of dark powers, you long to serve this person so you may to one day share a part of their greatness.

Vengeance Will Be Mine! (Person, Group, Organisation)
Foul Beast! Yours Days Are Numbered!
A slain family member, an ancient heirloom or bloody vendetta, you have sworn you will see the end of the Blood Cult of Shara-Ti, Vragul the Lich or the white dragon Frostflame.

The Chosen One
As you reached adulthood, your parents revealed the secret truth. You are not their child at all, one dark night, amongst arcane symbols, evil words of power and bloodcurdling screams you were to be dedicated as the Chosen One for some dark purpose. Saved by a wandering band of warriors you were dropped on the couples doorstep and they have raised you as their own.

Court Intrigue (Eladrin or Erathon)
While battle or words of magic excite you, nothing gets your blood racing like the intrigues of the Court of the Green Lady or the nobles of Erathon. Secret agreements behind velvet curtains, the fall of your rival, the affection of the beautiful ladies that frequent the halls of the powerful, this is what you live for.

 

[Hawke]

May I suggest not trying to cut down the number too much. It might not seem that fantastic to you but may spark something to a player. And if it doesn't, they'll simply choose a different one.

Having just used hooks with my current group, my only suggestion is to avoid ones that within the hook have too much of a clear draw. We used one character who's hook is that he's searching for a named evil guy who wronged his master in a far off land. While that sounds amazingly cool and fun, the first play sessions were so heavily oriented around finding that named guy that it didn't quite work out as well as I had hoped. It felt like the named guy was more a party hook and not a character hook. If I could change it, I would've made the evidence of who or what unnamed and much thinner.

It looks like you're doing a good job fixing my steps and making these backgrounds and long-term character development ideas rather than my mistake of a clear and obvious hook. Keep it up!

 

[Hand of Graz'zt]

Thankyou for the advice.

The main purpose of these is to provide a springboard for the characters imagination. For example, looking through the list one of the players might come across "The Eager Student", reading the entry he is hit with a sudden burst of inspiration, instead of looking for a master, he "is" the master. Running an "Adventuring School" in a nearby town he was fleecing the local youths and nobles with his training in dungeon skills. Eventually found to be a fraud, he ran away from the town in shame, determined to show those fools he really is the great adventurer he made himself out to be.

Here is a couple more I have come up with:

Sword of Power, Staff of Magic
As a child you were entranced by the legends regarding this magical blade or mystic item. As you grew into your own power, you learnt more secrets of this item, including its likely location, right here within the Vale!

Arranged Marriage
While the custom has grown out of practice, it is still followed faithfully by a number of people, one such being your family. Perhaps you are fleeing an unsuitable arrangement or need to find your recently disappeared bride.

Please suggest some more, as suggested I would like to give my PC's as many as possible to choose from.

 

[LostSoul]

How about this, for a general approach:

What does your character want?
What happened in your PC's life to make him want that?
What (or who) is keeping your PC from getting what he wants?

All the players answer those questions, boom, instant campaign.