D&D 5E Tomb of Annihilation character hooks?

[Quickleaf]

Gearing up to run Tomb of Annihilation. Having read several blogs and a thread on enhancing ToA, I'm struggling to come up with good character hooks that involve the PCs in the story.

Yes, I know some players will be able to make up their own, but I like to give them some ideas to start with. Having four solid hooks giving them reasons to want to end the Death Curse would be great, and then they can choose from these (or make up their own of course). Any ideas? Things that have worked at the table?

Was going to write up one about the Eye of Zaltec or other Lost Treasures, but when I tried to tie that back to the Death Curse I ended up with "to get the information you need about the <insert Lost Treasure>, you need to commune with the souls of the dead..." and was going to write about how "...but first you need to end or find a way around the Death Curse..." when I realized that speak with dead doesn't contact the soul, it just uses the body. So scrap that idea.

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Here are the ones I've written so far (not that I'm changing how the Death Curse works mechanically to encourage more exploration)...

[section]DEATH CURSE
Character hook

You died and were resurrected. Like all others raised from the dead, you suffer the Death Curse which slowly causes you to waste away toward a state of undeath and ultimately destruction. Seeking a way to stop the Death Curse, you’ve traveled to Chult where the curse supposedly originated.

Benefit: Your hit point maximum cannot be reduced by undead or magic.

Hindrance: Permanently reduce your number of Hit Dice by 1. Every two weeks that passes while the Death Curse remains a threat, reduce your number of hit dice by 1 permanently. If this would reduce you to less than 0 hit dice, you transform into an undead thrall.[/section]

[section]DEAR ONE WITH DEATH CURSE
Character hook

Someone dear to you – a friend or loved one – suffers the Death Curse.
If they are still alive, it is because they were raised from the dead and are now slowly wasting away into an undead state. You’ve traveled to Chult to find a way to restore your dear one.
If they are recently dead, they are denied peace in the afterlife – their soul cannot be contacted by any means and nightmares of what has befallen them plague you. You’ve traveled to Chult to find a way to grant your dear one the peace they deserve.[/section]

[section]HEIR TO THE TOMB’S SURVIVOR
Character hook

One of your forebears was an adventurer, the sole survivor of the Tomb of Horrors, a dungeon so deadly that he or she was never the same since. Your forebear warned you that the demilich who created the Tomb of Horrors would one day return to drain all life from the world. Though you thought your forebear raving mad at the time, now with the Death Curse you’re beginning to wonder. You’ve ventured to Chult to learn the truth.

Benefit: You begin with your forebear’s notes depicting a carved devil face with gaping mouth marked “avoid, extreme peril!” These notes may be consulted for clues at certain points.

Hindrance: The evil behind the Tomb of Horrors and the Death Curse can sense your bloodline.[/section]

 

[CubicsRube]

I would gove the premise to the players and ask them.

Ive just started toa as a player. I have a fighter who was an acolyte and pious member of the church of chauntea. He believes that chauntea has trained him to come to chult to try and end the death curse.

We have a druid that believes it is upsetting the natural order. A thief who has heardd tales of the riches lost in the jungles of chult, a warlock trying to escape the demonic curses in her mind, and a barbarian thats just there for the kicks!

 

[Demetrios1453]

I ran Cellar of Death from the DMs Guild, and it provided my group with the perfect motivation.

 

[maxed]

I used the "Dear one with Death Curse" hook for my campaign. One player created an "older" wizard (sort of a second career for him). I had his son be inflicted with the Death Curse. The son is also a Harper which was a good tie in to the Cellar of Death intro adventure: "Dad, I need you help infiltrating the lair of a lich."

 

[Quickleaf]

I would gove the premise to the players and ask them.

Ive just started toa as a player. I have a fighter who was an acolyte and pious member of the church of chauntea. He believes that chauntea has trained him to come to chult to try and end the death curse.

We have a druid that believes it is upsetting the natural order. A thief who has heardd tales of the riches lost in the jungles of chult, a warlock trying to escape the demonic curses in her mind, and a barbarian thats just there for the kicks!

Sure, I can always do that. But two things...

One, not every player at my table is familiar with FR or even D&D (most have played Pathfinder, some D&D, and one no TTRPGS at all). Coming up with that stuff can take a little time getting comfortable with the game and its lore.

Two, several of the motives you listed have nothing to do with the Death Curse. Why do the PCs care? Why do they want to stop the Death Curse? How is stopping the Death Curse about more than "to get rich & powerful in the process" or "because I was told to"?

I ran Cellar of Death from the DMs Guild, and it provided my group with the perfect motivation.

I like James' work and I looked it over. However, really doesn't fit what we're doing (starting at 3rd level, jumping right into the game with PCs sailing into Port Nyanzaru). Here's the starter I'm using:

[sblock]You and your fellow adventurers, each with your own reasons for seeking an end to the Death Curse, unearthed a talking skull – allegedly once a lich – from a dungeon. The talking skull claimed that the source of the Death Curse is a necromantic device called the Soulmonger hidden somewhere in Chult, a peninsula of mysterious jungles overrun by undead. Even if this talking skull isn’t being entirely forthcoming, it is your best lead so far. Securing passage aboard the Brazen Pegasus, a sloop whose gnomish captain Ortimay charges a high price for her expertise, you embark for Port Nyanzaru, the starting point in your quest. Two mages investigating the Death Curse travel with you: an ailing human archmage named Syndra Silvane and her half-elven protege Xandala. On the tenth and last day of your voyage you see land on the horizon; in the distance is the Bay of Chult and Port Nyanzaru.[/sblock]

 

[Quickleaf]

Here was the 4th character hook I was going to use...but I don't think it makes sense since Death Curse doesn't restrict speak with dead. Hmm.

[section]EYE OF ZALTEC
Character hook

The Eye of Zaltec – a fist-sized ruby – surmounted the Great Pyramid in Nexal, capital city of the Maztican Empire. A magic relic of the cult of Zaltec, its dagger-like point was plunged into the hearts of countless sacrifices and was said to restore the dead to life. Whether for gold and glory, or for mystical reasons, you are after the Eye of Zaltec. You’ve tracked it to Chult, where a rival party after the gem – the Company of the Yellow Banner – is two steps ahead. Your best chance of reaching the Eye first lies in communing with souls of the long dead, but to do that you need to find a way around this Death Curse first.[/section]

 

[CubicsRube]

Well just demonstrating that theyh came up with their own motivations. They arent necessarily deep, but enough for the players to be happy and sink into the game

 

[sim-h]

Do you know what characters the players are playing yet? I find it much easier to make hooks once I know a character's background - e.g. I've got a warlock (his patron wants him to find the soulmonger and hand it over to it) a cleric (his temple is desperate to get to the bottom of why their raise dead spells no longer work) a fighter who took the archaeologist background from the book, whose family I also had be friends with Syndra Silvane, and a thief who is in hock to the Lords Alliance who have ordered him to get to the bottom of the death curse or face the consequences. The final player is a draconic sorcerer who took a courtier background and was happy to run away to a remote place (Chult) to avoid anyone finding out about his draconic bloodline - no direct death curse link I admit, but it works overall. You don't need every player hooked in specifically to the death curse, just a majority of the party.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

From the DM's perspective ToA doesn't seem like an adventure that needs much of a hook beyond it's default setup. Anything else, I would let the players come up with.