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Message: <blockquote data-quote="BigBadDM" data-source="post: 7479396" data-attributes="member: 6862128">So I have been DMing for about 15+ years now and here are a few things I learned. Hopefully these bits help you.First combat. There are really two types of players during combat: those that like the crunchy bits and those that like the puzzle solving in combat. If you can have both--bonus points in making everyone enjoy the game. Combat can have story elements--these are usually the most fun and poise questions for the future.Here is an encounter I recently ran and how it moved the story forward without my intervention. PCs hear a crashing on the road ahead with shrieks. PCs arrive to overturned wagon. Huge Hill giant and Hill Giant child is attacking an old lady and a small child. The Small child is holding a wicker doll. PCs naturally want to protect the grandmother and child. When the PCs engage Giants, the Giant smashes the wagon and pulls out a string of kids on a long iron chain. Giants start fleeing with 'prisoner' kids. PCs now conflicted--who is bad here? Find out old lady is a Night Hag, but the child seems possessed by doll. Encounter wraps up. Hag gets away, PCs kill small innocent child, rescue 'kid prisoners', kill Giant mother and Giant child.   --I gave this example as a fun encounter. The 'crunchy' combat-oriented PCs just love killing hard challenges. The puzzle-PCs like how the encounter changed dynamics mid-encounter. Win-win.But here is how the PCs start making their own story (just from that encounter). At town the PCs give kids to the orphanage but find out that some of the kid's there have 'wicker dolls'. They have been getting them as free donations. PCs now take upon themselves to find the dolls source or what it means. They also hear about Giants attacking settlements/towns... they are now curious why. Are they evil or just surviving etc.. The point here is PCs feel invigorated to pursue. I don't know where dolls will take them... I don't know where the giants will take them. But dynamic encounters let the PCs dictate the direction of the narrative. So let's get back to your question about plot hooks and mystery. I would start off with a dynamic encounter right off the bat in the beginning of your next session. Maybe they wake up with the Inn burning down--with people fighting over each other to get out. Maybe you see the 'real' side of people when only so people can get out.  Maybe you find out the dwarf was in bad company (reason for the inn burning down). Maybe an encounter arrives with someone outside of town arriving with wanted posters of the PCs faces. One good dynamic is to make various NPCs in town hate each other. Spread lies about each or want to see each other ruined--frame each other--hired assassins. People's children captured as leverage to do 'evil' acts. Innocent people can be pawns of the bad guys You should have a general idea of who is the main bad guy and what is their goal. But make encounters that throw the PCs in different directions but let them come with the outcomes. You might start off with person X being the antagonist in your mind, but realize the clues the PCs are making might make NPC Y being a better fit. Ad-hoc the particular moments but detail the high level view.Hope that helps.</blockquote>

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