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Message: <blockquote data-quote="ivocaliban" data-source="post: 1876287" data-attributes="member: 17596">I've gone into great detail on this subject in past threads, so I'll only briefly touch on a few ideas now. Those "Your uncle sends you a letter..." plot hooks should merely be considered springboards. The better you know the characters the easier it is to tailor something more original for them. I spend my first session creating the characters with my players and then I conduct an interview them. I write out anywhere between a dozen and twenty questions, depending on how in-depth the campaign will be, and then go over them finding out interesting details along the way. But beyond that, the DM needs to take what they know of the PCs and give any plot hook a twist that befits those charactersFor instance, here are some variations on "Your uncle sends you a letter..."Background: The PC is a paranoid wizard (or rogue) of a wealthy family (or thieves' guild). Paranoid because the skirmishes between his and an opposing order of mages (or thieves' guild) has excalated to a full scale war. His uncle sends him a letter requesting assistance. From this, many things can result: *The letter is a forgery. The enemy order of mages has concocted this fallacy to draw out the PC so that they might capture and interrogate (or assassinate) him. The PC might be fooled by this and decide to go aid his uncle or he might realize it's a forgery. If he does see the fake for what it is, he may decide to go anyway because his uncle may still be in danger (perhaps the mages kidnapped him and forced his hand, killed him and sent the letter regardless...and so on). Or, perhaps the uncle himself has set up a betrayal. He may be promised a great boon by the order of mages if he hands over his nephew. Or, then again, he may have been forced to write the letter and set up a betrayal because the mages have some information they could blackmail him with...the possibilities are endless.*The letter is genuine. The uncle needs help. Perhaps the order of mages is causing the problem (whatever it may be). They may be doing so openly or discreetly...and the uncle may or may not be aware of the culprits (and the letter would state the chosen case). Either way, there's quite a lot of room to play with here. The uncle could be kiddnapped, dead, or dying when the PC arrives. Again, there are many options.Even more general concepts could play well here. Perhaps the uncle is dying and sends a letter to the nephew requesting to see him before he passes. This works well with greedy players or characters if you make sure to state there's something to gain for their efforts. It also works well for family-oriented or generally good aligned characters as they are unlikely to deny a family member his last request. It's important to remember that all of these things are just sub-plots to make the PCs feel caught-up in the story instead of just scribbled in. They most likely have nothing to do with the actual adventure or quest, they simply happen in addition to the storyline. The general concept "Your uncle sends you a letter..." is fairly dull, but so is unseasoned steak. It's the spices that make it taste good instead of just filling your belly. The same is true with plot hooks.</blockquote>

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