# 101 Unusual Adventure Hooks



## Stormonu

Forget about the standard fare of meeting in a tavern and rushing off to save the princess (or the world).  Instead, lay out an unusual, bizzare or off-beat opening scene for an adventure.  Don't explain where it's supposed to go from the opening scene or "what's really happening" - just set up the scene and leave it to the folks reading this to determine what they'll do with it.


1) Returning from their latest adventure, the characters find a dead goblin sprawled on the ground, purple-face up in the middle of their room.  His swollen left hand, stuck in a glass pickle jar, is wrapped about some crumpled parchment.  There's definitely writing of some sort visible on the parchment.


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## [OMENRPG]Ben

2) As the adventurers are trekking to or from their latest conquest, they pass by a cattle farm polluted with the horrid stench of putrefied flesh. As they get closer they see a cadre of ranch hands cleaning up the remains of several exploded cows, all in a row. As they look on in horror, other cows spontaneously give birth to a brand new and fully matured cow, causing the impromptu mother cow to explode.


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## Stormonu

3) As the group is shopping for supplies, from around the corner barrels a treasure chest, scuttling along on four short, squat feet - like some sort of wooden bulldog.  The lid briefly flaps open, revealing gold, gems and glittering jewels as it scampers past.  Before the party can even react, half a dozen wide-eyed villagers likewise charge past, pushing through the characters as they chase after the scuttling chest.

4) At a crossroads, the characters come across a trio of thick poles set into the ground, just outside the overlapping trails.  Crossbeams have been anchored to the poles, and from two poles dangle the bloody and beaten bodies of a man.  As a raven settles on the head of one of the still bodies, a faint call for help echos from the other man.  However, standing at the center of the crossroads is a road-worn traveler, who keeps the brim of his hat down to protect from the glaring sun.  As the group nears, he fondles a set of unusually shaped ebony dice in his hand.  With a smirk, he points to the open pole and bids the lead character, "care to try your luck?"


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## Janx

5) While outside, the adventurers hear a loud crash from over that way (far enough to be out of sight, yet audible).  A short while later, they hear a booming voice cry out, "I've fallen, and I can't get up!"  If the party investigates, they find an elderly  giant has indeed fallen, and he or she can't get up.

6) As the party is walking through the woods, one of the members is about to step into a big pile of dung (roll a DEX check). If they look closely at the pile, they'll notice it has a few gold coins in it.  If anybody makes a Wilderness Lore check, they'll note that this is a pile of bear scat, thus answering one of life's mysteries, while revealing another, which is, why is a bear pooping out gold coins?


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## Janx

7) The place where the PCs keep their stuff (bank, castle, cave, whatever) has been robbed.  The PCs discover it when they next go to it, or if there's somebody watching over it (banker, castellan, etc) that person notifies them.  In the place of their loot, the party finds a note thats says, "I'll pay it back."  The note is signed with a symbol the party has never seen before.


8)  The party comes across an ancient derelict ship, sitting out in the middle of nowhere.  It is not clear how the ship got here.  If they explore it, they will discover the ship's helm a dried and nearly petrified corpse of the helsman.  The body is not of a species the party has seen before (big something they've never seen from the MM).  In the ship's hold, they find a large array of strange looking oval jars.  They are arranged neatly in in rows and columns.  One of the jars' top is already open.


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## jonesy

9) Out in wilderness the party comes across a far out sight. In the middle of a plains is a huge rock. Gathered around the rock are dragons of all sizes and colours, engaged in an arm wrestling tournament. Nearby them lies the obvious price, covered by a huge tarp with runic markings, guarded by a gigantic gold.


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## Evilhalfling

10. 3 days after a giant pyramid swallowed the sun, your (low level) band is hired to transport wagons from city A to city B.


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## jonesy

11) A strangely dressed horse courier rides to you bearing a message telling of the death of 'your dear old friend', the king of the land. The message is clearly addressed to the members of the party. Funny thing is, you know for certain that the land hasn't had a king for nearly 200 years.


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## Kaodi

12) After stumbling across a ruined monastery in the wilderness, the characters enter the courtyard and find next to a sacred statue a neatly stacked pile of severed heads, each with a parchment in its mouth reading, "Please return to owner."


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## Janx

13) As the party is walking through a well to do neighborhood in the evening/night, they spy a hooded figure of slight build walking briskly, carrying a sack over one shoulder.

14) The party is attending a speech the king is giving (translate to the party hears about this, if they don't attend).  the speech is about the kingdom's current situation and the king's plan for the future.  Somebody shouts "You lie!" from the crowd.

15) The party is standing on a small grassy knoll, next to the street where the king is expected to travel through during a parade.  The sides of the street are teeming with people who are watching.  As the king and queen go by in the open carriage, one of the noble man in front seat sprouts an arrow from his chest.


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## steeldragons

16) The party nears the infamous town of Krenk. It is known throughout the land that the town has notorious strict rules to abide. Failure to follow them means almost immediate imprisonment, swift "trial" and eventual death....the only punishment for disobeying any of Krenk's laws is death.

As the party approaches the single gatehouse in Krenk's well fortified wall, the placard displaying the laws of Krenk is obvious, posted beside gates and extending, easily, 10 feet into the air if not more. No guards are noted along the parapets. When you get to the gate, the two heavily armored and armed guardsmen make no move or sound toward you. When to reach the wide open gate and the men, you see they both seem to be asleep.


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## cavalier973

17. While resting alongside the road, an adventuring party sees two wagons pass by. The adventurers discover that the first wagon is transporting a load of medicine to a village that is known to have been struck with the Plague. The second wagon, following closely, is a wedding party heading into town. A few minutes after both wagons pass, the adventurers hear the commotion of battle. Racing to the sound, they discover that a party of kobolds has stolen the wagon full of medicine and is heading east. A band of lecherous orcs has kidnapped the bride from the wedding party and is heading west.

18. A building in the capital city explodes and collapses. Word is that spies from an enemy land destroyed it.  The adventurers, however, happened to see one of the king's spies sneaking from the building just before it was destroyed.


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## jonesy

19) Travelling back to their kingdom the party arrives to the border crossing only to see it explode. Not the border crossing, the kingdom. Burning pieces of kingdom fly all over the horizon, crushing lakes and toppling mountains. The party barely avoids being hit by the capital city as is sails past.


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## Living Legend

20)  just as the PC's start to wind down from a difficult battle one of them closes their eyes... only to witness slivers of the same battle, but playing out differently.  Every time a PC closes his eyes for the next few moments he/she witnesses glimpses of the same battle but playing out the opposite way, ending with the party's death instead of the enemies defeat.


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## mkill

The PCs wake up in the morning, after a merry but uneventful night in a tavern. As they enter the common room, they notice that everyone, absolutely everyone in town is wearing a purple hat. Even the old bald dwarven barkeep, even the tavern cat, even their own horses! The hats are of different shape and size, but all purple.


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## Celebrim

I'm not really a fan of strange hooks; too many bad science fiction shows that mistook a hook for a story have left a bad taste in my mouth.  As such, I'm going to pair my hook with my twist because I feel that the hook itself is pretty useless.

EDIT: Nevermind, I see you explicitly forbade people from doing what I was doing.  Oh well.


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## Celebrim

jonesy said:


> 19) Travelling back to their kingdom the party arrives to the border crossing only to see it explode. Not the border crossing, the kingdom. Burning pieces of kingdom fly all over the horizon, crushing lakes and toppling mountains. The party barely avoids being hit by the capital city as is sails past.




I like your style.  This is exactly the sort of thing that I think one should open campaigns with.


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## Stormonu

22) As the party prepares to negotiate with a hostile force, the negotiation is rocked by a thunderous boom and the tang of sulphur.  Now, the limp body of a mage dangles between the groups, his head hidden in the stone roof from a teleport mishap.  The enemy is greedily eyeing the dead mage's gear...

23) After a night of reveling, one of the party members awakes to find their spouse waiting for them in the next room.  The new spouse wants to check out the fix-'er-up cottage they've just acquired, and settle down to a "normal" life.

24) A trio of humanoids, of the same race the party has recently trounced, approaches the strongest-seeming character and pledge their blades to their new leader.

25) A cloaked individual approaches a party member and hands a strange knife to the character as he speaks an odd phrase.  When the party member does not respond with the appropriate counter-phrase, the individual appears horrified, and dashes away.


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## Revil Fox

26) One of the PC's wakes up in an inn just in time to see a woman dressed head to toe in black leather stealing a prized treasure from him. The woman notices the PC wake up and makes a mad dash for the window, not slowing as she dives head first through the glass. The PC sees a bright flash of light, and when he gets outside only seconds later the woman is laying motionless on the ground, with the treasure nowhere to be found. The leather hood she's wearing has no holes for eyes, mouth, or nose, and seems to be attached to the leather bodysuit via a small, but well made, padlock. When the PCs eventually get her out of it, it's clear that she was killed very recently; her throat is slit, as are both of her Achilles tendons and both of her wrists, yet there is no fresh or dried blood anywhere to be found.


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## Janx

27) You were invited to a dinner with a local lord and have chosen to attend.  After dinner, the party is invited to the smoking room, where the lord may have a private word with you.  You're waiting in the smoking parlor while the lord says good bye to his other guests.  Suddenly, all the lights go out, and you hear a crash, a woman scream.

28) The party is out and about, when they meet an odd pair.  A short, cylindrical Modron (or other minor Mechanus critter) and a tall, lanky War Forged.  The War Forged offers for the pair to enter into your service as butler and assistant.  The modron only speaks in odd noises that the war forged seems to understand.  The war forged is a prissy efete of a man, overly concerned with manners and protocol.  If the Modron is inspected, it seems that he has an old scroll tied and tucked into one of his nooks or crannies.


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## Random Axe

*A more modern-based setting*

I re-read the OP, and didn't see any restriction for or against fantasy settings only.  Therefore I present one of my own adventure openings:

29)  You receive an email posted from a distant regional newspaper.  The sender's email address is unknown and from a generic server.  The newspaper story that is being shared is about a local death under mysterious circumstances, of a non-local person that you / your party has had good dealings with in the recent past.


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## Grogg of the North

30)  After traveling with a caravan for a while, the party discovers a fortune teller among them.  When they ask to have their fortunes told, every card the fortune teller draws is the Death card.  

31)  You wake up in an inn room.  You have no recollection of how you got there or where you are.  There is a dead humanoid here.  The room, your clothes and hands are covered in blood.  Suddenly an angry shout is heard outside the door and the door rattles against its hinges as someone bangs against it.  You have only a few moments before the door gives way....

32)  Your party is contacted by the local government/guild.  Strange creatures/animals that are not from the area have been seen by caravans along the road to town.  You've been tasked to go out and investigate and, if possible, retrieve one alive.  

33)  The party wakes up in a forest with no memory of how they got there.  Each of you has a small arrow in your body.  As you begin to explore the surrounding area a fey appears and asks "Where do you think you're going?"


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## cavalier973

#34. While enjoying a meal in the local tavern, the party strikes up a conversation with another customer, who is witty and urbane. Several times during the meal, the customer takes action that ensures that people other than the party know of his presence (he asks someone at a nearby table to pass the salt, etc.). The party agree to meet with the customer the next day in the same tavern, at which point the customer promises to relate some information that would interest them. The next day, however, the customer never shows. When the party inquires about him, they are told by everyone that the customer didn't exist; that the party never interacted with anyone but themselves.  One of the party members finds something that conspicuously belonged to the customer (a pair of ornate gloves, a beer stein with the customer's symbol or name) hidden under a table or behind a cabinet.


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## Evilhalfling

# 35 You smell smoke. 
your hear a man rushing by out side yelling "Fire"  It seems to be spreading from multiple locations all over the city.


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## SkredlitheOgre

36.  On their way back into town from the latest adventure, the group finds all traffic through the gate slowed down by a band of Dwarves hard at work uprooting the cobble stones from the road and laying them down to make the road through town straight.  If the party tries the other gates, they find the same thing.

(I'm using that one in my Pathfinder campaign right now.)

37.  The party is contracted to "deal with" a mage who, after a hit on the head, his spells come out completely different than he intends.  Was it simply the hit on the head or is there something more...sinister going on?


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## cavalier973

38. The adventurers enter a village which they have not visited before. They hear a shrill cry: "That's them!", and are immediately beset by a crowd of angry children, waving sticks and throwing rocks. Looking around, the adventurers see no adults in sight.


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## Quickleaf

39. While relaxing at the local swimming hole the PCs notice several drunk locals getting into a fight (maybe their nieces, nephews, or cousins are involved) with a clan of Vistani / nomads regarding an alleged theft. The PCs also notice some of their common gear - though nothing iron - is missing. Could the stories of nixies in the pool be true? Is a clever thief scapegoating the "gypsies"? Has one of the PC's younger relatives fallen into debt at "gypsy dice" and is afraid to fess up? Or could there be a stranger explanation?


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## Lady Chaomii

40. A cyborg (or magitech equivalent) unicorn covered in tree-sap falls out of the sky in front of the PCs. Upon investigation they discover she has no memories, and has no idea who she is or how she came to be.


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## Jon_Dahl

41. BBEG is a look-a-like of one of the PCs. Kobold underlings of the BBEG grovel at his/her feet and villagers think that he/she is simply a poorly disguised BBEG...


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## Janx

42) After crossing a river, the PCs come across a village.   Every NPC there looks like somebody the PCs have killed before.  The NPCs claim not to recognize the PCs, and they all seem to be getting along peacefully.


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## cavalier973

43.) After spending the night in the ruins of an old tower, the adventurers find that the landscape has changed dramatically from the time they entered the building. There was nothing but fields surrounding the tower when they entered; they exit the next morning onto a busy avenue in the middle of a city.


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## cavalier973

44.) The adventurers take refuge from a storm in a cave.  Deciding to explore, they come upon an ancient red dragon lying atop a mound of priceless treasure.  Though the adventurers are low level, the dragon seems absolutely terrified of them.


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## cavalier973

45.)  The adventurers enter a village of regular humanoids (humans, elves, dwarves, etc.) in which everyone is exceedingly deferential to a crotchety and profane old goblin.


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## cavalier973

46.)  The adventurers are commissioned by a village mayor to retrieve a trinket from the abandoned ruins of a nearby town.  When they leave the ruined town with the trinket, the town becomes whole, filled with people, and bustling with commerce.  When they arrive at the village, they find that it is deserted and falling apart.  As they stand in what was once the village square, a messenger from the town arrives and demands that they return the trinket at once.


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## cavalier973

47.) While exploring an ancient ruin, the adventurers stumble into a chamber in which they meet their future selves. The "future selves" vehemently warn the "present selves" to do some thing that seems nonsensical ("take off your shoes, quick!") then fall to the ground, dead.


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## Tonguez

48) The party comes across a group the dry and desiccated skeletons. Even a cursory inspection shows that the corpses are of the same race and build as the PCs. The PCs will also notice that although they are old and tattered, the corpses are also wearing the same clothing and armour as the PCs. Anyone searching the packs of the corpses will find that they are also carrying exactly the same equipment as the PCs (sans magic)...


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## RobShanti

The sky is lit with a red glow in the north.  A half day's travel from where the PCs are, the ruins of an ancient tower long empty and crumbling are now belching a column of flames into the sky.  Stampedes of wildlife are fleeing the area of the ruins.  A bit of burning detritus spewed from the site falls not far from the party:  it's a fragment of a tablet containing runes long forgotten.  On the flip side of the fragment is the graven image of a bulbous entity with many arm-like and leg-like projections divided in swollen nightmare segments and endowed with two heads:  one of an aged man dark and regal and terrible, with a grizzled beard; the other indeterminate due to being off the broken edge of the fragment...


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## Dioltach

50) The PCs watch a play or listen to the performance of a ballad. The performance only tells part of the story, though -- the actors/singer promise to continue the tale the following evening. After the first performance, the PCs start noticing that events happening to them are identical to the tale told in the play/ballad.


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## Electric Wizard

51) The characters awaken in an overgrown garden with what they think is the mother of all hangovers. As they try to find their bearings, a jubilant villager runs by and announces that they are finally free. They remember that they ventured to the haunted villa to slay a medusa, but were turned to stone. The most recent adventurer has been a statue for over a hundred years, the least recent for maybe three hundred. Time to pick up the pieces and move on...

52) The characters awaken in bodies that aren't their own. Even worse, their new bodies belong to the most wanted criminals in the kingdom!


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## cavalier973

53.) In order to aid the adventurers in their quest to rid the shire from some fabulous monster, the baron lends them his magic sword, a priceless heirloom that has been passed down for generations.  The baron makes it quite clear that he wants the sword returned as soon as they succeed.  Before they even reach the monster's lair, they accidently break the sword beyond repair.


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## cavalier973

54.) The adventurers find evidence that there is a plot to assassinate the king, however, the adventurers themselves are not on very good terms with said king, and would actually benefit from his death.

Edit:  The adventurers are actually given the quest by the king in question, or perhaps his wife, with whom the adventurers are on good terms.


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## cavalier973

55.)  An adventurer that is widely acknowledged to be a great hero approaches the adventuring party in secret and offers to pay them a lot of money (or give them a wondrous item) if they complete a quest but allow him to claim credit for it.


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## Scott DeWar

cavalier973 said:


> 43.) After spending the night in the ruins of an old tower, the adventurers find that the landscape has changed dramatically from the time they entered the building. There was nothing but fields surrounding the tower when they entered; they exit the next morning onto a busy avenue in the middle of a city.




or conversely:

The land outside turn into primaeval [virgin]forest (Think of poland/chechnia)


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## cavalier973

55.)  While questing in the endless dungeons, the adventurers are all slain, and are turned into ghosts.  To escape, they must possess the bodies of a wandering band of goblins, return to town, and convince their fellow members at the adventurers' guild of their real identity, so that they can get help to retrieve their real bodies.


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## cavalier973

Tara506 said:


> After stumbling across a ruined monastery in the wilderness, the characters enter the courtyard and find next to a sacred statue a neatly stacked pile of severed heads, each with a parchment in its mouth reading, "Please return to owner."





This was actually plot #12, on the first page, but it's always nice to re-read a classic.


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## cavalier973

Scott DeWar said:


> or conversely:
> 
> The land outside turn into primaeval [virgin]forest (Think of poland/chechnia)





I like it.  Now, did they time travel, or does the tower simply move about the world and appear in random places?


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## Scott DeWar

I was thinking it is under the influence of the fey. In our world, that is time and the chaotic nature of the fey could cause forward or backward time travel.


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## Stormonu

57)  As the characters retire to a tavern, bar or other establishment, a being looking exactly like the grim reaper (cloth-draped skeleton with a scythe) makes his way to the bar and orders a drink.  Upon receiving it, he toasts to the characters health and then laughs maniacally before gulping down the beverage and crumbling into dust, leaving behind a strange, glinting blue gem.


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## RobShanti

Scott DeWar said:


> I was thinking it is under the influence of the fey. In our world, that is time and the chaotic nature of the fey could cause forward or backward time travel.




Ah! In that case, another alternative is that the primeval forest could be a faerie forest or other fae realm, putting the characters into direct contact with the fae and their world!


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## Scott DeWar

RobShanti said:


> Ah! In that case, another alternative is that the primeval forest could be a faerie forest or other fae realm, putting the characters into direct contact with the fae and their world!




there you have it!


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## cavalier973

58.)  The civil war has finally ended, and the side that the adventurers had joined was the losing side.  They were, unfortunately, unable to escape the kingdom's capital city before it was captured by the nation's new rulers, and reports have now reached their ears that supporters of the losing side are being rounded up and carted off to be executed (or worse).  As they huddle in the dark basement that they use as a hiding place, wondering what has happened to their team's captain ("She should have been back an hour ago."), there's a knock at the door....


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## cavalier973

59.) The long civil war is over, and the adventurers are supporters of the winning side. As they enter the newly-captured capital, the kingdom's new ruler makes an announcement that a large bounty will be paid for the capture of any of the "rebels". Following a solid lead on a band of rebels somewhere in the city, the adventurers discover that the "rebels" in question are a group with whom they were once on good terms (that had saved their lives, etc.).


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## Hand of Evil

60) A little girl runs up to the adventures and says in the saddest voice with tears running down her face that they have to help...find her puppy!


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## Electric Wizard

61) A cloaked figure pushing a tiny, rancid cart lumbers through the city's alleys. When it sees a child stray too far from his or her parents, it rushes towards them with unnatural speed, snatches them with a single clawed hand and stuffs them into its cart. The figure then darts behind a corner and vanishes completely.


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## jonesy

Hand of Evil said:


> 60) A little girl runs up to the adventures and says in the saddest voice with tears running down her face that they have to help...find her puppy!



That would be unusual if the puppy in question eventually actually truly turned out to be.. a puppy.


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## Dragoslav

62. While walking through the wilderness, one of the members of the party is suddenly struck on the head by a turtle that has fallen from the sky after being held aloft in the talons of an eagle. The turtle is still alive, but it's shell has a cryptic message written on it.


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## Hand of Evil

63.  After a wild night parting and drinking, the adventures wake up in some ones bed...WOO...not just there beds but in their bodies!   

Twist on this is to make it the same body, undead or golem, and the party has to run it!


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## Scott DeWar

Hand of Evil said:


> 63.
> 
> Twist on this is to make it the same body,* undead* or golem, and the party has to run it!




"You know rathgar, I have a craveing for BrAiNs........"


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## Scott DeWar

jonesy said:


> That would be unusual if the puppy in question eventually actually truly turned out to be.. a puppy.




like finding the puppy on the sacrificial alter to orcus?


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## jonesy

Scott DeWar said:


> like finding the puppy on the sacrificial alter to orcus?



Well sure, that works, but I was referring to the scenario of characters finding an innocent animal and then it usually turning out to be not so innocent, or indeed a normal animal. So it would be more unusual for the innocent creature to be what it seems to be.


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## Hand of Evil

jonesy said:


> That would be unusual if the puppy in question eventually actually truly turned out to be.. a puppy.




In the game it was, sort of a Lassie...just kept leading the party to Billy in the well, the man that was mugged, drug dealers, to the dog catcher that making coats from dog hides, etc.


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## Electric Wizard

64) The party discovers a deserted and ransacked logging village. Oddly, there are barely a handful of bodies. Their backs are filled with elvish arrows, and there are distinctly elvish boot prints leading into the forest. The discovery is unsettling because the humans and elves in this region enjoy a longstanding peace.


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## Traveon Wyvernspur

[FONT=&quot]65) The adventurers are in the middle of the forest and happen upon and old ruined tower, only the first floor is still accessible. Upon entering the room they find heavily enchanted jar with a severed finger wearing a ring on it…

66) [/FONT][FONT=&quot]While investigating an old warehouse building, a member of the party falls through the rotting floorboards and into an ancient tomb, inside the only sarcophagus within, the party finds a scroll that emanates a strong foreign magic…

 [/FONT]


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## Electric Wizard

67) The party discovers a perturbed hill giant toddler crashing through a forest. No sign of her parents.

68) A family member on the half-orc's character orcish side invites him to a wedding. Refusing an orc's wedding invitation is a grave mistake.


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## cavalier973

Electric Wizard said:


> 62)
> 63) A family member on the half-orc's character orcish side invites him to a wedding. Refusing an orc's wedding invitation is a grave mistake.





Actually attending could be an even greater mistake.  Be sure to bring extra napkins.


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## cavalier973

Electric Wizard said:


> 62) The party discovers a perturbed hill giant toddler crashing through a forest. No sign of her parents.




And it doesn't take a Hard DC Perception check to know she needs her diaper changed.


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## cavalier973

Electric Wizard said:


> 62) The party discovers a perturbed hill giant toddler crashing through a forest. No sign of her parents.




This has a lot of potential.

1. the toddler attaches herself to one of the party member, preferably the one party member that finds her most annoying.

2. the toddler's parents were killed in a "Hatfields and McCoys" style feud.  The toddler is a Hatfield, but the only hill giants that the adventurers know personally are McCoys.

3. The toddler is part of a vanguard of hill giants that have decided to settle in the region, a situation with which the locals are definitely not happy.

4.  And so on.


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## Scott DeWar

Electric Wizard said:


> 63) A family member on the half-orc's character orcish side invites him to a wedding. Refusing an orc's wedding invitation is a grave mistake.




A particularly sticky situation if the invited is a Paladin.


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## Stormonu

69) The party, having just saved the local town from bandits, is awarded the town's meager accumilated wealth.  However, the treasure loudly and vehemently protests it is not the village's to be given away....


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## Razjah

Formerly 64-67, corrected to 70-73.
70) While walking back to town the party finds a dagger with a teardrop shaped hilt that is standing perfectly upright in the road. When the party approaches they notice that the tip is just on top of the dirt, not actually stuck in the ground. When they inspect the dagger the shadow is pointing towards the sun, not away from it.

71) The party wakes to screaming in the city. When the run outside, a great dragon falls from the sky taking a large section of the city walls and some businesses with in the crash. The dragon is dead, but has no injuries. Witnesses (including city watch members) say the dragon circled the city after coming from the south and then just dropped from the sky like a stone.

72) While wondering through a forest, the party steps into a pristine glade. The sun is warm, the birds chirp happily, everything appears peaceful and calm. Except the PCs weapons and armor are gone (clothes remain).

73) Every day the citizens of a foreign city leave the streets at three in the afternoon. If the party does not follow suit elderly couple opens a door and yells for them to get inside they have only a few seconds. Once inside the door is slammed shut and the couple trembles in fear as they cling to each other.


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## Random Bystander

74) Through incredible luck, the low-level party has just slain a dragon, gaining its vast treasure for themselves...

75) The party stumbles across a fierce fight between two groups, with no way to easily tell who's the good guys. Both sides call for the party to help them fight the villains.

76) The party comes to a town...Only to find that look-alikes had already come through and solved the problems. This pattern repeats often. Worse, people are beginning to believe they are the fakes.


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## Razjah

77) The party is comprised of various PCs who were being trained by an group of famous adventurers (wizard trains wizard, fighter trains fighter, etc). Two weeks ago the mentors got together and left on an adventure. The party was given no knowledge of the adventure- but each was told that if their mentor did not return in two weeks to come to the Biting Boar Inn. The group is waiting when a courier walks in.


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## Electric Wizard

78) An ominous emblem begins appearing in tapestries, paintings, engravings, etc. across the city. More and more manifest every day. Only a few people seem to notice them. Meanwhile, there has been an alarming increase in tragic accidents from the lowest to the highest citizens.

79) A pack of wild dogs is gnawing on some carrion. The dogs scatter, and the carrion turns out to be a skeletal arm with jeweled rings. A single dog remains. With a glimmer in its eyes, it says, "We have more bones with shinies. Come!" Then it makes a beeline into the hills.


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## Razjah

80) A clan of gnomes has opened a parcel delivery service. They ship anywhere in two days for 15 gold, in one day for 25 gold. They mean anywhere. The far side of a 4000 mile wide continent? Pay the fee give the place, in two days it is there. No one knows how they do it, and how they can charge so little to move the parcels so far and so quickly. What else can they ship?

81) During a solar eclipse, the moons stops moving. At first people think the eclipse is just moving slowly, but it never keeps moving. The moon stays perfectly over the sun, for hours, then days, then weeks. The moon is always directly in front of the sun as it moves across the sky. Now the monsters are enjoying the seemingly eternal darkness.


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## Traveon Wyvernspur

Somehow we got all messed up on the numbering. The last numbers from [MENTION=98806]Razjah[/MENTION] should've been 80 & 81, go back 1 page to page 7 and that's where the numbers got put off.

Anyhow *number 82 *should be next (after Razjah's post) as we continue forth in this thread. Hopefully everyone who's posted goes back and edits to correct. I'm actually copying all of these down on a Word document right now and plan on putting it up on the site when we hit 101+ as a PDF for reference for everyone to be able to print out if they like.


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## Razjah

I fixed mine, I see you found where we got turned around (I didn't notice, sorry). 

82) The party comes across a dead body in the road. He is wearing wizard's robes and small book is hidden on his body. There is evidence of magical attacks on him. The book contains unorthodox magic (like the Binder and Shadowcaster in 3.5, tweak the specifics for your system).


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## Traveon Wyvernspur

Razjah said:


> I fixed mine, I see you found where we got turned around (I didn't notice, sorry).
> 
> 82) The party comes across a dead body in the road. He is wearing wizard's robes and small book is hidden on his body. There is evidence of magical attacks on him. The book contains unorthodox magic (like the Binder and Shadowcaster in 3.5, tweak the specifics for your system).



No problem! Hah, I am a bit OCD so that's why I noticed it...


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## Razjah

83) The PCs are nearing a city, when they see a giant banging on the city gate demanding entry. The gate has been bared, and the giant doesn't appear to be interested in breaking into the city. From the distance the PCs cannot make out everything they hear, but they do hear the words "promise", "king", and "daughter" from the giant.

84) The party opens an ancient tomb and brave the traps and hazards to find the forgotten king's treasure. Inside they find a strange device. It has a curved wooden handle connected to a metal tube. The wooden handle continues along the sides and bottom of the tube to just before the end. There is a small hammer like device on the right side and a flat piece of metal where the hammer can hit it. There is a trigger on the underside, just beyond where the curve of the handle starts with a small metal guard. Every bit of metal is intricately engraved with flourishes and leaves. When the hammer is pulled back it clicks into place (similar to a crossbow catching) but when the trigger is pulled a great blast of flame as hot as a dragon's breath launches from the tube. [It is a flintlock pistol that shoots a dragon's breath, but that isn't as cool as the description.]


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## Stormonu

85) A warrior dressed in gleaming armor and bearing the heraldry of the local church strides up to a haggard looking woman.  Holding forth a longsword that blazes with blue fire he commands her "begone!"  Much to his surprise, the woman vanishes in a puff of black smoke and a cackle.  The knight seems confused and unsure what to do next.


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## Random Bystander

86) Not Worth The Price: Much to everyone's shock and horror, the local vampires are starting to become sparkly and invulnerable, as well as attracting gawping teenage fangirls/boys. Everyone (including the vampires, but excepting the fangirls/boys) agrees This Must Stop.


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## GhostBear

87) During a prolonged, difficult war against Horrible Evil Empire, it becomes known that the holy men of your empire has finally found the means to resurrect the ancient hero of legend that first defeated the Evil, many eons ago. This hero is indeed The Last Hope, as the world is nearing its final days and is struggling to survive. However, it seems that the spirit is quite comfortable being dead, thank you very much, and isn't particularly interested in helping.

88) A tribe of kobolds has turned from their vicious, baby-eating ways and has accepted a place in modern polite society. Soon, businesses are forced to provide kobold-accessible stairs and doorways; government agencies are forced to hire a certain amount of kobolds; taxes are raised so that money can be given to pro-kobold societies. Even worse, the party is now being charged with hate crimes due to a long-ago raid against a violent kobold tribe. Who is really behind this social change, what is their motivation, and is someone being malicious or honestly trying to be helpful?

89) Over the course of several weeks, there is not a single ounce of silver that can be found. All silver coins have been exchanged for gold or copper, all silver weapons have been bought, deliveries of silver ore are disappearing and even the silverware for the kitchen table has been bought out or stolen. Is it market manipulation, preparation for an attack by an organized lycanthrope society, or is a wealthy eccentric just having a bit of fun with everyone's head?

90) Each party member notices that he is being followed - each by a different bird. The birds don't allow themselves to be approached, but can be found peeking through windows, around corners, or they might fly out of a doorway the characters had just opened. If a bird is killed, another soon appears to take its place.


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## Random Bystander

91) A messenger shoves a message into a party member's hands, says "They're coming for", then dies.


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## Razjah

92) [note best used when a new player enters the group] While the party explores an ancient ruin they come across what appears to be a medium sized golem of stone, metal and earth (Warforged), with a strange symbol on it forehead, inside a cylindrical metal tube with a triangular window which allows them to see this strange golem. There is a lot of smoke inside so the golem is just barely visible. As they examine the cylinder, the section with the window lowers like a ramp. The golem steps forward from the smoke.


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## Scott DeWar

93) A werewolf in hybrid form staggers to the party. He falls to the ground exhausted saying, "help me!"


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## GhostBear

Scott DeWar said:


> 93) A werewolf in hybrid form staggers to the party. He falls to the ground exhausted saying, "help me!"



He's wearing a large collar with "PUPPY" stitched onto the side, and in the distance a little girl in a cute dress is running towards him with a leash.


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## jonesy

GhostBear said:


> He's wearing a large collar with "PUPPY" stitched onto the side, and in the distance a little girl in a cute dress is running towards him with a leash.



The little girl has rippling muscles and looks like she could take on anyone in the party in an arm wrestling contest. The cute dress is somehow refusing to rip apart despite this.


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## Dioltach

94) A mysterious hook hangs from the ceiling of the local tavern.


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## jonesy

Dioltach said:


> 94) A mysterious hook hangs from the ceiling of the local tavern.



"Look at that. I never noticed it before."
"What?"
"That hook up there."
"What about it?"
"Doesn't it look sort of.. what's that word?"
"Hmm. Mysterious?"
"Yes! A mysterious hook.."
"Now that you mention it, it does look rather interesting. I wonder why it's right at that spot? Doesn't seem to have any purpose."


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## Hand of Evil

95) Tavern, players are in, falls into the underdark...

96) Messager/Bard comes up to one of the players and say "a note from your family" and starts: singing here comes the bride, here comes the bride...your wedding has been arranged...


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## Stormonu

GhostBear said:


> He's wearing a large collar with "PUPPY" stitched onto the side, and in the distance a little girl in a cute dress is running towards him with a leash.




I am somehow reminded of this:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXfFO2DV860[/ame]


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## Scott DeWar

storm, you are sick.just plain sick.


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## Hand of Evil

a farmer with a shotgun, a crying daughter and seven big brothers come looking for one of the party members.


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## Random Bystander

98) Your characters have just discovered they're sorcerers; heirs to an ancient dynasty destroyed by an eldritch abomination controlled by Pelor, the Burning Hate.


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## Electric Wizard

99) A woolly mammoth crashes through the village palisade, destroying buildings and shouting one of the characters' names.

100) One night, a character spies his love interest laying eggs beside a stream.


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## Stormonu

h


Electric Wizard said:


> 99) A woolly mammoth crashes through the village palisade, destroying buildings and shouting one of the characters' names.




"Murdock, I'm coming for you!!"

101) When the barkeep hands the party their tab, he accidentally gives them a list of names that have been scratched out.  The named individuals have all mysteriously vanished from town in the last month.


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## RobShanti

102. Shortly after the winter equinox festival, a band of unseelie dwarves ride into town on a boar-drawn sledge and raid the gifts and set fire to the houses. The heroes must engage them in a sleigh chase over heavy snow toward their cavernous lair...


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## Scott DeWar

The winter queen decides to hold court in the town of the heroes.


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## Summer-Knight925

103. The PCs sit in an inn, and when their meal finally comes(a special of mostly chocolate cake, cookies, and fudge) but no milk comes with it.

104. A dragon lands in town square, asking for help. Someone has stolen his favorite cup and needs help to get it back.

105. Rocks fall, but nobody dies.

106. A dog befriends one of the players, give the player notes as the dog telepathically communicates with the character.

107. The moon hasn't shown in over a month over this small village and the surrounding forest, but if anyone tries to leave, a journey that takes more than one day, they find themselves on the road home rather than the home away.

108. Someone has poisoned the water hole.

109. The Players are on the road, either to or from an adventure, and a carnival travels with them, even if they stray from the path.

110. A player is haunted by a ghost, but this ghost only can attack by striking the character with a wooden spoon, it does no damage, at first....but it is mighty annoying.

111. the characters awake to find they've all switched bodies. (right the character's names on a 3x5 card, shuffle, handout to each player at random)

112. The characters, either on the way to or from an adventure, pass through a town for the night. This town has vast fields of sunflowers, except they are closed during the day and open at night. 

113. After a well paying adventure, the characters are visited by ghosts in an attempt to get these Scrooges to help out the poor.

114. A forest springs up over night

115. Some built a castle on the hill!...over night.

116. The characters pass through a town to find them getting ready to hang a criminal. The crimes against the person?
Being really really ridiculously good looking.

117. After a large number of missing infants, someone claims the goblin king stole them.

118. A fog comes into town, rusting all the metal it touches.

119. Each character awakes to find they have a super power. 

120. One of the characters, an orphan, gets a letter from a man riding a griffon, signed by his father.  

121: The characters are all given a kitten by an old crone, she claims that if ever the kitten should die, the character dies with it.

122. Someone set fire...to the rain.


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## RobShanti

123. Intrepid jewelers return to town with gems they acquired in a set of heretofore undiscovered ruins several miles to the north.  SOME HORRIBLE THINGS FOLLOWED THEM BACK.


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## Electric Wizard

124) An aging baron undergoes an alarming rejuvenation. His hair is thick and brown again. Instead of hobbling around his keep with a cane, he cuts a dashing figure riding through the country on horseback. His least favorite son is shocked and bitterly disappointed because he is eager to collect his inheritance. He will reward any who discover the secret behind his father's transformation.


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## Electric Wizard

125) In the city, a masked vigilante spends nights dishing out his own brand of justice with the help of sophisticated machinery. He was admired among the common folk until he began leaving bodies in his wake. The guard has not been able to apprehend him, and are hoping to uncover his identity before he strikes again.


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## Hand of Evil

Here is a head line from the news, always a good place for an idea:



> -OTTAWA — It was an inside job of sorts. Thieves with access to a warehouse and a careful plan loaded up trucks and, over time, made off with $18 million of a valuable commodity.
> 
> The question is what was more unusual: that the commodity in question was maple syrup, or that it came from something called the global strategic maple syrup reserve, run by what amounts to a Canadian cartel.
> 
> On Tuesday, the police in Quebec arrested three men in connection with the theft from the warehouse, which is southwest of Quebec City. The authorities are searching for five others suspected of being involved, and law enforcement agencies in other parts of Canada and the United States are trying to recover some of the stolen syrup.
> 
> Both the size and the international scope of the theft underscore Quebec’s outsize position in the maple syrup industry.
> 
> Depending on the year, the province can produce more than three-quarters of the world’s supply. And its marketing organization appears to have taken some tips from the producers of another valuable liquid commodity when it comes to exploiting market dominance.


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## cavalier973

126.  One of the adventurers wakes up married to a pineapple.  An UGLY pineapple.  But he loves her.


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