Modern adventure hooks without these two cliches...

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

The two cliches I'm looking at are using family or friends as plot hooks, or patrons. Not that they're bad, but virtually all the adventures I've read use them, and some variety would be nice. The cliches are as follows:

1) Using family members or friends. If anyone has watched "Murder She Wrote", you'll notice Mrs. Fletcher is always seeing friends getting killed off. Frequently adventure plots avoid this, but instead put a friend or relative in trouble.

2) Using a patron. A patron makes things easier, as they can easily get information needed by the players, and they can easily arrange transportation to other countries .... weapons included. Having said that, they frequently put restrictions on what the players can do.

High-ranking patrons, including the temporary kind, are unlikely to employ the players unless they have a fabulous reputation - and since adventuring groups rarely exist in a Modern era, it causes one to wonder why they wouldn't go to a private mercenary firm instead.

I think we could create a list of other types of plot hooks here that fit a wide variety of character assumptions. These could be added to any adventure if the players "don't care" or if they're a bit tired of bailing out friends and relatives.

 

[The_Universe]

3) An uncaring patron hires or persuades the characters to take some action that he or she desires. The characters are chosen essentially at random and without regard to their qualifications or other motivations, because they are meant to...

a) draw attention from the patron's actual purpose (which may involve a more "qualified" set of employees on a similar or parallel task)

or

b) fail completely, as the patron merely wishes to make a show of concern for whatever the objective may be.

Common twists involve the death, loss, or betrayal of the "real" party in part A, which then requires the promotion of the decoys to the real thing.

See Spies Like Us for further permutations and ideas.

 

[The_Universe]

4) A person or organization that a friend or relative has run afowl of has poor eyesight, poor record-keeping, or both. The organization or enemy mistakes one (or more) of the characters for their troubled relatives, and visits some unpleasantness upon them, much to the chagrin and confusion of the characters. The characters may need to find their friend or relative to discover what activity has gotten them in trouble, or may seek vengeance for the trouble.

Common twists include making the record keeping error deliberate (the friend or relative was pretending to be one of the characters), or tying the characters to a patron.

See the Big Lebowski for various permutations and refinements.

 

[Roudi]

Does a patron also cover an employer who provides the PCs with pay for a job completed, but nothing else? I tend to use the "employer" for an initial hook quite often.

I've found that the Quickshots Mission File series of Modern adventure ideas (Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie) have 60 adventure hooks between them, and don't use either cliché. Quite a few of them revolve around things popping up in front of the PCs when they least expect it. I'm a big fan of this type of hook as well... to just throw something random at the PCs and see how they react.

 

[jaerdaph]

1) Using family members or friends. If anyone has watched "Murder She Wrote", you'll notice Mrs. Fletcher is always seeing friends getting killed off. Frequently adventure plots avoid this, but instead put a friend or relative in trouble.

That's because Cabot Cove has the highest murder rate in the country.

 

[Old Drew Id]

I've been wanting to start a thread along this line for a long time but never got around to it. If you want to compile a good list of modern hooks, try to compile a list of movies where an average person gets whisked away on an unexpected adventure. Off the top of my head:

Sister Act / Eraser / Witness -
Witness a crime and have the criminals try to eliminate you before you can testify

Jumpin Jack Flash / Wargames -
A computer glitch allows an endangered spy or secret computer system to communicate with you

If Looks Could Kill / Adventures in Babysitting / The Man who knew too Little -
You look exactly like someone else unrelated to you, such as a criminal or known spy, or just get mistaken for them, or receive a package intended for them

Swiss Family Robinson / Lost / Unbreakable -
You are the victim of a shipwreck or plane crash in an unusual area or which is suspicious for some reason

Hunt for Red October / Weekend at Bernie's / Pelican Brief
During your normal day-to-day job, you write a simple memo or report which uncovers something big, and you don't realize it

Total Recall
You encounter dangerous strangers who seem to know you from an earlier time in your life that you don't remember

Whole Nine Yards
A hit man tries to kill you or reveals that he was hired to kill you

There are literally dozens of these cliche hooks that can work great in a modern campaign without requiring a patron or dragging a PC's friends or family into the mix.

 

[arwink]

That's because Cabot Cove has the highest murder rate in the country.

Or because Mrs Fletcher was actually the worlds most succesful serial killer.

 

[Committed Hero]

* I would also want to distinguish "patron" from "employer," if the party can interact with stuff just because they are bounty hunters/park rangers/toll booth operators.

*There is a tournament/convention/big event that one of the characters wants to attend (I suppose the other PCs are all connected to him beforehand).

*The characters "encounter" property or a large collection of junk and have to inventory it; treasure maps, old books, or McGuffins that the baddies want are found therein. This could be through
-a law firm or notary public asked to open a bank's safe deposit box
-an auction house tallying goods for an estate sale
-a bequest in a will
-a realtor getting an old house ready for sale

*An odd coincidence. Two people claiming to be the same person meet the party. One of the PCs experiences missing time. The party discovers a series of murders killing a group of which they are all members. Or because they are linked by an as yet unknown secret.

 

[AmorphousBlob]

Well, it's not exactly a surefire way to hook the PCs, but if you know your PCs well enough, you could have an item that one or more of them desires be mentioned in the news (whatever medium you choose) and open up an opportunity to steal or protect such an item. Great for parties of thieves and/or treasur seekers.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

Wow, these are great!

I was reluctant to use employers because it's rare all the players have the same type of skills. IMC I make sure the players know each other at least loosely, but they frequently met outside of work (so one might be a police officer, another a hunting adventurer, etc - unless they open up a trouble-contracting firm, the hook only applies to one player).