How do I create and manage plot hooks?

Plot hooks are story starters including quests, mysteries, rumors, and events that give players something to pursue. SwiftPrep helps you track hooks from inception to resolution, see which threads are active, and avoid dropping important story elements.

Creating a Plot Hook

1. Click Plot Hooks in the sidebar
2. Click Create Plot Hook
3. Enter a name (required)
4. Select type and urgency
5. Fill in additional fields as needed
6. Click Save

Plot Hook Fields

Core Information

Stakes and Urgency

Stakes and urgency help players prioritize. A hook with high urgency and deadly stakes demands attention. A hook with no urgency and minor stakes is something they can pursue when ready.

Tracking

Connections

Organization

Hook Types

The Status Workflow

Plot hooks follow a kanban-style workflow. Move hooks through these stages as your campaign progresses:

Dormant

You have created the hook, but it is not available to players yet. Maybe it depends on other events, or you are saving it for later.

Example: "The Cult's Ritual" - you know about it, but the party has not encountered the cult yet.

Available

The hook can now be discovered by players. It exists in the world, waiting to be found.

Example: "The Missing Merchant" - the merchant's wife is looking for help, and the party could hear about it.

Active

Players have engaged with this hook. They are pursuing it, investigating it, or working on it.

Example: "The Missing Merchant" - the party accepted the job and is following the trail.

Resolved

The hook has concluded. The mystery was solved, the quest completed, the conflict ended.

Example: "The Missing Merchant" - they found him (or his body), and the situation is settled.

Abandoned

The hook is no longer relevant. The world moved on, the opportunity passed, or it simply does not matter anymore.

Example: "The Missing Merchant" - the party ignored it, and the merchant's family gave up and moved away.

[!TIP] SwiftPrep offers a kanban view where you can drag hooks between status columns. This gives you a visual overview of your campaign's story threads.

Creating Quest Chains

Link related plot hooks together to create quest chains:

Example: The Dragon Conspiracy

Main Quest: "The Dragon Conspiracy" (the overarching goal)

Sub-quests (parent = main quest):

• "Find the Dragon's Agent" (discovery)
• "Infiltrate the Cult" (quest)
• "Obtain the Ritual Components" (quest)
• "Confront the Dragon" (conflict)

How to Link

1. Create the main quest first
2. Create each sub-quest
3. Set each sub-quest's Parent hook to the main quest

Now you can see the full quest structure and track progress through the chain.

Using Stakes and Urgency

Stakes and urgency make hooks feel meaningful:

Stakes Examples

Urgency Guidelines

Escalation

Hooks can gain urgency over time:

• "The Missing Merchant" starts as Low urgency - he has been missing a week, what is another few days?
• After the party delays, increase to Medium - now there are reports of strange lights where he was last seen
• If they keep delaying, High - the merchant's family received a ransom note with a deadline

Escalation creates organic tension.

Using AI to Create Plot Hooks

Field-by-Field Generation

1. Click the AI Generate button next to any text field
2. Provide guidance: "involving the Thieves Guild" or "a ticking clock situation"
3. Select tone preset
4. Generate

Quick Generation with Super Swift

1. Open Super Swift from the sidebar
2. Click Plot Hook
3. Select type and urgency
4. Add guidance if desired
5. Generate

This creates a complete hook with name, description, stakes, and complications. Promote it if you want to keep it.

Tips for Managing Plot Hooks

Create More Than You Need

Players should have choices. Create multiple available hooks so they can decide what to pursue. If they only have one option, it does not feel like a choice, it feels like a railroad.

Track What Players Care About

Players vote with their attention. If they keep asking about a minor hook, promote it. If they ignore a "main" hook, consider why. Maybe the stakes are not clear, or they do not feel connected to it.

Let Some Hooks Fail

Not every hook needs resolution. Some should have consequences if ignored:

• The merchant dies
• The artifact is claimed by the villain
• The war starts without the party's intervention

This makes the world feel real and choices feel meaningful.

Record Resolutions

When a hook resolves, note how in Resolution notes. This becomes your campaign history. Months later, you will appreciate knowing exactly how "The Missing Merchant" ended.

Connect Hooks to Entities

Link hooks to relevant NPCs, locations, and factions:

• Who can tell the party about this hook?
• Where does the hook lead?
• What organizations are involved?

Connected hooks feel like part of your world, not isolated quest-dispensers.

Example: Creating a Plot Hook

Name: The Sunken Cargo

Type: Quest

Description: A merchant ship went down off the coast three weeks ago, carrying a valuable cargo. The merchant who commissioned the shipment is offering a substantial reward for recovery, but he is being vague about what exactly was aboard.

Stakes: If the party does not act, a rival salvage crew will claim the cargo. If the cargo is what we think it is, that is very bad news.

Urgency: Medium (the rival crew sets out in two days)

Related NPCs:

• Marcus Varne (the merchant, hiding something)
• Captain Reeve (knows where the ship went down)
• One-Eye Peg (heard rumors about what was really aboard)

Related locations:

• The Rusty Anchor (where rumors circulate)
• The wreck site (two hours by boat)

Related factions:

• The Merchant's Guild (Marcus is a member)
• The Thieves Guild (interested in that cargo)

Tags: side-quest, docks, arc-1

Status: Available

Related Articles

• What are entities and how do they work in SwiftPrep?
• How do I create and manage NPCs?
• How do I create and track factions?
• How do I define relationships between entities?