20 Ways to Kickoff The Demonplague D&D Campaign

The Demonplague is on sale in both PDF and print. If you’ve got a hard copy of the book, send me a shelfie on Twitter (because they make me happy)! In this post I’ll show you twenty new ways to kickoff your Demonplague campaign!

Extra Story Hooks

The Demonplague has twenty story hooks you can use to start you campaign. Here’s another twenty you can use that kickoff the story with a bit more action than those provided in the adventure.

d20	Hook
1	The characters live in a town just beyond the mountains of the Luna Valley, which is attacked by 1d10 plague zombies. After helping defend the town, a local cleric hires the characters to head into the valley and discover where the zombie’s origin.
2	The characters live in a town just beyond the mountains of the Luna Valley, which is attacked by 2d4 winter goblins. One of the goblins carries a note from Dourkeg which reads, “No more refugees on the road. Leave the valley to find victims for Ralekai,” in Goblin.
3	The characters live in a town just beyond the mountains of the Luna Valley, which is repeatedly attacked by hungry animals (2d4 wolves, 1d4 dire wolves, one polar bear, or one winter wolf each attack). A local ranger figures the animals in the valley are starving and leaving to find food. The town’s mayor hires the characters to discover what’s happening in the valley.
4	The characters live in a town just beyond the mountains of the Luna Valley. A merchant caravan from the valley comes into town chased by 1d4 swarms of zombie rats. The merchants tell the characters about the disaster in the valley and say that the survivors are in dire need of protectors and providers.
5	The characters live in a town just beyond the mountains of the Luna Valley. A cult fanatic and 1d4 cultists from the Cult of Chaos come into town one day, preaching the end of the world has come and started in the valley. The cultists then ask people to join them and begin slaughtering any who refuse.
6	The characters live in a town just beyond the mountains of the Luna Valley. A pair of mud-covered winter wolves with three levels of exhaustion each that once stayed in the valley now stalk the lands outside the town, harrassing people at night. The characters are hired to deal with the wolves. The wolves don’t put up much of a fight and agree to move further north after explaining the situation in the valley to the characters saying more monsters will come if the situation isn’t handled.
7	The characters live in a town just beyond the mountains of the Luna Valley. Earthquakes have been plaguing their home, destroying property and hurting people ever since the comet hit. The mayor of the town hires them to find the source of these quakes likely somewhere in the valley.
8	The characters live in a town just beyond the mountains of the Luna Valley. 2d6 bandits attack the town. If captured and questioned, the bandits reveal what’s been happening with the disaster and that there are fewer and fewer people on the road in the valley to rob these days because all refugees are amassing in Tomar’s Crossing.
9	The characters live in a town just beyond the mountains of the Luna Valley. Four dretches attack the town. A local priest hires the characters to discover from where the demons came.
10	The characters live in a town just beyond the mountains of the Luna Valley. A woman (berserker) dressed in rags comes over the mountains, mud-covered and ranting about a comet, a terrible disease, and dreadful monsters. She then goes insane and attacks anyone she can reach. A local wizard hires the characters to find out what drove the woman mad.
11	The characters live in a town just beyond the mountains of the Luna Valley. 2d6 Ralekai skeletons come in the night and carry off as many people as they can back over the mountains. The characters are hired to save those people.
12	The characters live in a town just beyond the mountains of the Luna Valley. Two decrepit clay golems come over the mountains and attack the town. A local wizard hires the characters to find out where the golems came from.
13	The characters live in a town just beyond the mountains of the Luna Valley. A passing merchant woman on her way to the Luna Valley named Ellie Mircar (Merriath the Quick) hires the characters to come with her to the Luna Valley to find an outlaw named Mara Silver (Kadra Tourmaline).
14	The characters have been hired to work on a merchant vessel headed for Safeharbor in the Luna Valley. Three vrocks attack the ship in the night, killing the crew and leaving the ship to crash on the valley’s north shore.
15	The characters have been hired as guards to work on a merchant vessel headed for Safeharbor in the Luna Valley. When they get to the city, they find it ruins, destroyed by the disaster that has befallen the valley. The characters and ship crew are immediately attacked by 2d8 plague zombies that tear apart their vessel and leave them stranded in the valley.
16	The characters have been hired as guards to work on a merchant vessel headed for Safeharbor in the Luna Valley. Before the ship can get to the city, a comet dust storm envelops the ship, slamming it against the valley’s north shore. The characters are the only survivors and their ship is destroyed.
17	The characters have been hired as guards to work on a merchant vessel headed for Safeharbor in the Luna Valley. After having a terrible shared nightmare about the end of the world due to the demonplague, the characters awake to find the ship’s crew (twelve bandits) have gone mad and are slaughtering each other and jumping into the waves. The ship crashes against the valley’s north shore and is destroyed.
18	The characters have been hired as guards to work on a merchant vessel headed for Safeharbor in the Luna Valley. From the muddy banks of the valley, a starving frost giant with three levels of exhaustion puts several hurled boulders through the hull of the ship, which crashes on the north shore of the valley.
19	The characters meet an adventurer (veteran) coming back from diving into ruins in the Luna Valley. She has tales of the disaster and plenty of newly uncovered dungeons full of treasure, including a stone table with strange writing in Goblin she found. The adventurer’s eyes turn red as she holds the tablet and she attacks the characters, fighting to the death. The adventurers companions hire the characters to find out what is going on in the valley.
20	The characters travel with a sick merchant who was just in the Luna Valley. He has stories of the disaster and being attacked by a strange monster he cannot name (a valok). Sometime later the merchant transforms into a valok before their eyes (make it clear this monster is too tough for low-level characters to handle alone). The merchant’s spouse then hires the characters to find out what infected their loved one.

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