have players submit plot hooks?

[EricNoah]

I was tossing around an idea for a future campaign...

Instead of (or in addition to) players developing detailed character backgrounds, what if they submitted 2 or 3 plot hooks that would help me as DM see what kinds of adventures the player wants his PC to be involved in?

I was also thinking about, maybe every couple of levels, asking the players to submit a fresh plot hook.

There would be no promise/assurance that I could make every one of them happen, but I think it might be helpful. Players, would you be interested in doing such a thing for your DM?

 

[Jdvn1]

It's certainly worth a try! Sounds like an interesting idea.

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

Done it as a player and a DM. I think it works pretty well, especially with a new group (I first tried it with a newly formed group in college). It helped set common expectations, and by giving the players some input into the direction of the campaign, it encouraged them to trust a strange DM. It also made them more likely to play along when the action shifted to one player's "arc", as they knew that their turn would come.

If you get lucky, there will be enought material that can interlock or overlap that you won't have to do any thinking at all!

 

[frankthedm]

I love doing this when i play, though my fellow players dislike the plots i prefer.

I usually add them in with my backstory, hailing from a villiage where some inhabitants are acting [and looking] fishy.

 

[Crothian]

I do something like this, asking ofr character goals and trying to let them choose what they are going to do. Hecxk, I even had a player say he wanted to rescue a princess, the poor girl. She was all happy and doing fine and then this player has to have some to rescue so the poor girl gets captured by giants and had a very bad expereince of it.

 

[EricNoah]

you won't have to do any thinking at all!

That's the dream, right?

 

[ThirdWizard]

I've seen this idea a few times on ENWorld, and I've always thought to myself that it's kind of a neat idea and promptly forgotten it. But, that's it. I'm going to do this! I'll ask for 3 plot hooks per PC in order to guage the direction I'm taking the campaign. I won't be using the plot hooks exactly, but I will use them to create plot hooks that fit more into what the Players want out of the game.

It's decided. So shall it be done.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

My players are doing this to an extent in Midwood. It's had mixed results, but they seem to like it until I get stuck and can't figure out how to wrap up a resulting adventure, which sometimes happens.

 

[Stalker0]

I've often asked my players what tone they would like for the next series of adventures, such as political, combat heavy, damsel in distress, etc.

 

[el-remmen]

In my experience that is what a good character background does - it provides plothooks for future adventure and even casts them with the people the player mentions in that background.

But there is certainly nothing wrong with emphasizing this to the players and asking them to focus on the "hook" aspect.