Generic Hooks?

[Memnoch3434]

Hey Everyone!

I have a campaign that I am working through. The idea is to start the campaign as a very generic, run of the mill hack and slash for maybe the first session or two. You know hooks like "The innkeeper wants you to get rid of the goblins in the nearby mine," and "They kidnapped the princess!"

I got the idea from the movie "Cabin in the Woods" if you are wondering why. Also my players are all very new to tabletops.

tl:dr what quests have you done that feel "overdone" or "bland" lately?

Thanks!

 

[innerdude]

• Find herbal agent X to make some potion/medicine to save the mayor/priest/orphanage, or any other "FedEx" type quest (go find object X, bring it to person Y).
• The local ranger/woodsman has "mysteriously been disappearing in the night" (lycanthrope).
• The local priest has been investigating rumors of undead.
• The local orc/goblin/gnoll/kobold tribe(s) have been acting up again.

 

[LostSoul]

There is gold in the dungeon and you are broke.

 

[GMMichael]

As long as tl;dr doesn't stand for Too Late;Didn't Run:

Seems to me that most generic hooks come from popular media. Examples: Conan movies, Lord of the Rings, video games

Conan: A vengeful barbarian warrior sets off to avenge his tribe and his parents whom were slain by an evil sorcerer and his warriors when he was a boy. (Courtesy of IMDB, including the grammatical difficulty.)

Lord of the Rings: A reluctant hobbit sets off to save his tribe and the world from an evil sorcerer and his orcs.

Dragon Warrior: A duty-bound knight sets off to save the world from an evil sorcerer. Includes this gem: "Take now whatever thou may find in these Treasure Chests to aid thee in thy quest."

 

[Hand of Evil]

Lassie fell down the Well -- little girl ask the big strong heroes to find her dog. Points to a path leading into the woods, to a well... Note: there are a lot of variations on this, from hags to the dog being a werewolf.

We need tax collectors -- local lord needs some someones to guard his tax collector as he goes around the local towns. The problem is there is growing unrest in some of the outer settlements.

Guard my goods (tie in to We need Tax Collectors) -- Merchant is selling some goods, just a few days out of town and back. The problem, the good are weapons and the buyers are an evil horde.