Ideas

Random Story Hooks

Posted by Rick on in Ideas, Random 0 Comment

Random Story Hooks

Use these to create a random story hook for your story, RPG adventure, poem, book, etc.

  • This is an action comedy. The story is about a stressed exorcist hiding a dark secret. It takes place in a pocket universe. A magical artifact plays an important role.

  • The story is about a bandit and a peasant. It starts in a steam-driven fiefdom in a magical dimension.

  • The story begins with an invasion of privacy and ends with someone being slandered. A magical accident plays an important role. The story is about a bounty hunter. It starts in an ocean fiefdom in a magical dimension.

  • The story begins with a revelation and ends with someone moving to a new dwelling. The story is about an opportunistic champion. It starts on our world in a new magical age. The effect of magic on society is a major part of the story.

  • This is an action adventure with a strong theme of responsibility and the importance of brains over brawn. The story is about a misunderstood sailor, a princess, and a prophet. It takes place in a hideout. The story begins with the discovery of a long-lost relative and ends with a massacre.

  • The story is about a mentor, a demonologist, and a nun. It takes place in a universe where space travel occu­rs by magical means. The story ends with someone buying a dwelling. This is a political story.

  • The story is about a tomb-robber who hates a stingy occultist. It starts in a capital city in a star-spanning magical empire. The return of an ancient evil at regular cycles plays an important role in the story. This is a crime caper story with an undercurrent about creativity and the need for change and growth.

  • The story is about eleven forceful peddlers. It starts in a castle. The crux of the story involves a compromise. The story is about an unstable musician who is obsessed with a necromancer. It takes place in a magical part of our universe.

  • The story begins with a misunderstanding and ends with someone buying a dwelling. Holding off the end of the world is an important part of the story.

  • The story is about a studious fisherman who hasa crush on a fortune-teller. It takes place in an infamous police state on a world artificially created by magic. A conflict between those who use magic and those who don’t plays an important role.

  • The story is about a knight and an infamous treasure-hunter. It takes place in a star-spanning magical empire. A new kind of magic is evolving in the story.

  • The story is about a pious bowman who fears the future. It starts in a magical dimension. The story begins with a resignation. The end of one era and the beginning of another is a major element of the story. This is a character study.

  • The story is about an opinionated architect who is engaged to a teacher. It starts in a magical part of our universe. The effect of magical races on romance is a major part of the story. This is an action comedy with a strong theme of romance.

  • The story is about a friendly dutchess, a heroine, and an alchemist. It starts in a magical alternate universe. The story begins with a delusion and ends with someone reading a book. A spell being cast at the right time plays an important role.

  • A Pirate King is trying to inflitrate the Navy and destroy it. Rumors of a giant Battleship being constructed have scared the Pirates. In reality there is no Battleship, although the Pirates have been constructing their own large ship to counter.

    • GM Help: RPG setting ideas

    Posted by Rick on in Ideas, Settings 0 Comment

    GM Help: RPG setting ideas

    One of the strengths of the D20 systems is the wide range of settings it can be used in. Between Dungeons and Dragons, Modern, Future, Cyberpunk and the Past supplements just about any setting can be run fairly effectively. I’ve so far ran a Time Travel Fantasy game, a Steam Punk/Victorian Era game, and a near future high tech space game with this system. Here’s a list of some other settings that I think would make a great game.

    Torchwood – United States

    A new rift has opened up in whatever major city you’re most familiar with. Captain Jack is in town to check it out and see how big it is. Unfortunately he finds that it needs a 24/7 team to watch over it. This is where the PCs come in, they can either be drafted or coerced by Captain Jack, or be members of a secret military organization or even private company dedicated to such things. This could be a Bureau-13 type setting with aliens, time-travel, and unexplained monsters, along with the very occasional siting of the good Doctor. Having this be over seas from the main part of Torchwood gives the characters the ability to get some occasional help or specialized equipment when needed, but not be totally dependent on them.

    Roadmarks

    Based on the book of the same name by Roger Zelazny, Roadmarks is the story of a couple who travel a road through time. Characters can be police from some where in the future tasked with patrolling the road. Or they could be hapless travelers from any era who turned off on the wrong road and ended up here. Perhaps they’re looking to just get back, or possibly they’re trying to make a profit off the road by (illegally) running artifacts from the past to the future. Or possibly providing modern guns to participants in ancient wars.

    Space 1899

    This was a game system from the 1980’s that had a great background, but wasn’t too popular for some reason. The discovery of liftwood allows the building of ships capable of space flight. This fueled further colonization of not only Earth, but Mars which was essentially a Colonial-era Africa in Victorian times. Using the D20 Past rules, some various D20 Steam Punk settings, and a bit of research into Victorian eras a great game could be built.

    Zompocalypse

    Zombies have risen, and are eating brains. Use D20 Modern and a basic Zombie template. The Zombie outbreak could be a localized event or a world wide event. This would be a great setting to play boringly “normal” characters who have been trust into an extraordinary  situation. The area of conflict can be an entire town, or an office building, mall or school. Characters have to use makeshift weapons and depend on whatever supplies they can find. This could be a one off game, or an entire campaign as the PCs explore and father clues to find out how the got Zombies started.

    As can be seen, most any setting can easily be created in the D20 system. So go take advantage of it! And have fun!