Ideas for Player Plot Envelopes

[PieAndDragon]

I need ideas for plots (title and 1/2 sentence description) for my players to choose.

My players will see 10-20 envelopes with a plot Title and more information inside. Each player will pick one and these will form the main plots of the campaign.
I have no plot / adventure prepared and will use random generators to populate most NPCs / Places / Rumours.

Here are my initial ideas!

1) Priest of a Fallen Power You follows a god / spirit / fiend which was once very powerful in the region, and will bring about their rise once more.
2) Fallen Mentor Your former mentor is now a threat to civilisation in the region
3) Unrequited Love Another creature has a great love for you that you do not return (suggest who/what)
4) Lost Heirloom You have been sent out to reclaim a powerful item of your family/organisation (suggest what)
5) Missing Person A person close to you (family member/friend/lover) came to the region and has gone missing (suggest who)
6) Write Your Own Describe your own plot in a sentence or two (working with the GM)

 

[Blue]

It seems like you're doing a lot of extra work to give your players some input into campaign direction. Why not reduce your work and really get the players involved by working with each of them about something they want as a character arc, and with the whole group brainstorm what are the common elements to give a starting place for campaign arcs.

 

[Blue]

Just as an alternative, steal an idea from 13th Age with their icon relationships. Come up with the top movers and shakers of the world, including villainous ones. You don't need to go into a lot of detail, btu a general thrust fo what they are for and some ally/foe with others would be a good start. Let each player pick relationships with up to three: positive, negative or conflicted. This impacts the characters and makes them important even before they are powerful, but even more so it shows you where the player interest is. If several end up with negative for the Demon Lord and several positive around Holy Churches or whatever, you know that they would enjoy a demon hunting campaign. On the other hand, if no one has much to do except one person who's conflicted, then that won't hold much interest for your players.

 

[PieAndDragon]

My players are fairly relaxed, so an open discussion quite likely won't turn up much.
This way my players can choose from a concrete list and use that to discuss ideas. We're already a couple of sessions in so we have an idea of the characters but not a great amount of backstory.

 

[PieAndDragon]

I gave my players 20 envelopes with the following options. It went down well!

1. Unrequited Love – Another creature has a great love for you that you do not return (suggest who or what)
2. Vengeance – A powerful figure / organisation has wronged you or one close to you and you see their downfall (suggest who)
3. Worshipper of a Fallen Power – You follow a god / spirit / fiend that was once powerful in the region and you seek to restore that power
4. Dark Mentor – Your former mentor is not a threat to civilisation in the region (describe your mentor)
5. Lost Heirloom – You have been sent out to reclaim a powerful item of your family/organisation (suggest what)
6. Missing Friend – A person close to you (relative/friend/lover) came to the region and has gone missing (suggest who)
7. Apprentice – You have been assigned an apprentice / student to train and look after
8. Homeland in Danger – Your homeland is in danger, and you seek aid to protect it (suggest threat)
9. Child of Adventure – You are the child of an adventurer, and seek out the members of their old adventuring party (suggest why)
10. Protect Another PC – Choose another PC, you have been assigned to guard and watch them
11. Secrets of the Hool Marshes – You have an interest in the history/treasure/culture of the ruins among the Hool Marshes.
12. Heir of Biavor – You are the rightful heir of an estate of Biavor, before it fell (42 years ago) and seek to reclaim it
13. Mystery of the Green Giant – You seek the secrets of the Green Giant, a phantasm standing on the shore with a duchy named after it.
14. Stirrings in the Redcloud Peaks – You have visions of smoke pouring from a mountain in the Redclouds, and disaster to follow.
15. Hunted by the Dominion – Minions of a powerful undead of the Mirasa Dominion hunts you (suggest why)
16. Conflicting Plots – You have two plots that are in conflict with each other (choose two)
17. A Persistent Rival – Choose another plot, you have an NPC rival who seeks the same (suggest rival)
18. A Strong Bond – You and another PC share each the same goal (choose another PC)
19. A Random Plot – Choose another plot at random.
20. Write Your Own – Describe your own plot in a sentence or two (working with the GM)

 

[Hand of Evil]

I with [MENTION=20564]Blue[/MENTION], work with the players and let them do some homework. You as the GM do not have to do everything, get the players to invest in their characters and they will get invested into the game. One of the best ways to do this is during character creation and asking them a number of questions and follow-up questions and then doing a what-if on the answers and then build a plot from them.