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Secret of Bone Hill: any good plot hooks

Started by Sacrosanct, February 28, 2013, 04:35:09 PM

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Sacrosanct

February 28, 2013, 04:35:09 PM
So this Saturday I'm running my group through a homebrew game using Secret of Bone Hill as the adventure.  Reading the module, it's laid out pretty wonky.  There's this huge ass rumor table, but no real plot hooks to get the party to the actual hill.

I'm sure I could figure something out, but has anyone found plot hooks for that module that worked well?
D&D is not an "everyone gets a ribbon" game.  If you\'re stupid, your PC will die.  If you\'re an asshole, your PC will die (probably from the other PCs).  If you\'re unlucky, your PC may die.  Point?  PC\'s die.  Get over it and roll up a new one.

Melan

#1
February 28, 2013, 04:56:44 PM
Pretty much any macguffin could be hidden in the ruins, and various NPCs/interest groups linked to it. E.g. somewhere down there lies the fabled scroll containing the Word of Chaos, while the mage Peltar of Lendore is sworn to prevent anyone from finding it, etc. You could actually select a few NPCs randomly; L1 is very flexible that way.
Now with a Zine!
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Exploderwizard

#2
March 01, 2013, 08:07:15 AM
Remember that L1 was written for the AD&D game. The PCs are ADVENTURERS looking for fame and fortune.

The biggest plot hook for the hill is that it is a ruined castle that may contain quite a bit of lost wealth.

A reason to adventure in a game featuring great advancement rewards for aquiring wealth isn't hard to come up with.
Quote from: JonWakeGamers, as a whole, are much like primitive cavemen when confronted with a new game. Rather than \'oh, neat, what\'s this do?\', the reaction is to decide if it\'s a sex hole, then hit it with a rock.

Quote from: Old Geezer;724252At some point it seems like D&D is going to disappear up its own ass.

Quote from: Kyle Aaron;766997In the randomness of the dice lies the seed for the great oak of creativity and fun. The great virtue of the dice is that they come without boxed text.

Bill

#3
March 01, 2013, 10:26:30 AM
Sometimes a dream or vision can lure characters to a location.

Really it is all about player (wish it was always character) motivation.

Do they want gold? magic treasure? serve a god? I have gotten a lot of milage out of visions and dreams.

Haffrung

#4
March 01, 2013, 11:03:04 AM
It's been a long time since I played L1, but one motivation technique that usually works for me is revenge. Have one of the major NPCs in the adventure (the female magic-user) steal from, humiliate, or harass the PCs. This is best done after a session or so of exploration. And as others have pointed out, greed works well.

Or you can combine the two: the evil sorceress in L1 slayed the PC magic-user's mentor a few months ago and took his spell book and magical apparatus. Now the party has tracked her to the ruined castle, looking for revenge and the magic items.
 

Sacrosanct

#5
March 01, 2013, 11:22:12 AM
Well, the primary purpose of this session is to playtest the mechanics for DRAG%N, so I suppose the players won't be too put off by the old stand bys (monsters!  Treasure!)  

;)
D&D is not an "everyone gets a ribbon" game.  If you\'re stupid, your PC will die.  If you\'re an asshole, your PC will die (probably from the other PCs).  If you\'re unlucky, your PC may die.  Point?  PC\'s die.  Get over it and roll up a new one.

Doom

#6
March 01, 2013, 12:27:12 PM
Well, there's a "lost soul" in there that badly needs rescuing, of a sort....that was the plot hook I used when I ran it a few years ago.
(taken during hurricane winds)

A nice education blog.

Exploderwizard

#7
March 01, 2013, 12:40:13 PM
Quote from: Sacrosanct;633206Well, the primary purpose of this session is to playtest the mechanics for DRAG%N, so I suppose the players won't be too put off by the old stand bys (monsters!  Treasure!)  

;)

Check back in and give us a playtest report. :)
Quote from: JonWakeGamers, as a whole, are much like primitive cavemen when confronted with a new game. Rather than \'oh, neat, what\'s this do?\', the reaction is to decide if it\'s a sex hole, then hit it with a rock.

Quote from: Old Geezer;724252At some point it seems like D&D is going to disappear up its own ass.

Quote from: Kyle Aaron;766997In the randomness of the dice lies the seed for the great oak of creativity and fun. The great virtue of the dice is that they come without boxed text.

Sacrosanct

#8
March 02, 2013, 01:00:26 PM
OK, I think I've got it.  The PCs will be approached by an obviously highly distraught young disheveled lass, begging them to help find her grandfather (Help me Obi-Wan, etc).  She looks like a street rat or wilderness child, so the authorities won't take her seriously or help her, that's why she's begging the PCs.

Her grandfather is the mage in the study that is dead, but obviously no one else knows this.  Since we're using a different system than AD&D, there is no remove curse or limited wish.  Instead, the part will need to slay the wraith to bring peace to him.  If they bring back the wizard's belongings to the lass, she will become an important NPC later on down the road as she learns her grandfather's magic.
D&D is not an "everyone gets a ribbon" game.  If you\'re stupid, your PC will die.  If you\'re an asshole, your PC will die (probably from the other PCs).  If you\'re unlucky, your PC may die.  Point?  PC\'s die.  Get over it and roll up a new one.

jeff37923

#9
March 02, 2013, 01:17:28 PM
The Skelter and the Zombire, what created these intelligent low-level spellcasting undead?
"Meh."
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