Plot Hook Fake Book: Heroic Fantasy

A hundred stories. One heroic spark.

Plot Hook Fake Book: Heroic Fantasy is a toolkit for heroic storytelling. It holds 100 plot hooks, each one crafted to launch adventures with clear stakes, ready conflicts, and room to grow. You can drop these hooks directly into a session using The Simple Approach, or rework them with your favorite system. The layout is made for action. You can grab a story, scan the core pieces, and start running with it.

Every entry gives you a sturdy narrative frame. You get the situation, the central goal, the major threat, the obstacles that keep the players from solving it, and the reward that might tip the scales. Each hook includes expansion notes that help you stretch a simple problem into a layered quest. You can use a hook for a single session, build a character arc around it, or let one twist lead into the next until it becomes the spine of your campaign.

These stories lean into classic heroic fantasy. You’ll find tyrant kings, haunted woods, divine relics, imprisoned spirits, and ancient wrongs that won't stay buried. You’ll find small town mysteries, personal rivalries, and moral crossroads. Some ideas feel familiar because they are. That’s part of their strength. A strong plot hook invites players to recognize the shape of the story, then step in and change it.

Every story in this book is meant to begin something. What happens next belongs to you.

What’s a Fake Book?

Musicians use fake books to perform full songs with minimal notation. A fake book gives the melody, the chords, and the lyrics. That’s all. From there, the player fills in the rest using their own skill and creativity. It works because the foundation is solid. You know the key. You know the rhythm. You can take it from there.

This book works the same way. It gives you the core structure of each plot. You know what’s happening, who’s involved, and what might go wrong. The rest is in your hands. You decide how to fit it to your world, your rules, and your players.

Every session at the table is a live performance. You respond to what your players say, what the dice reveal, and what feels right in the moment. These hooks help you walk in with confidence. You have the rhythm. You have the notes. Now play.

Using This Book

Pick a plot. Follow the guide. Build from there.

Every entry begins with a short summary, then walks through the key elements. The goal tells you Explain what the player characters need to accomplish. The stakes explain why it matters. The antagonist shapes the conflict. The obstacles create tension. The reward offers closure, triumph, or transformation. Expansion notes let you reshape the story to fit your campaign.

If you’re using The Simple Approach, everything maps directly to your prep process. If you’re using another system, just add the mechanical details that match your rules. The story framework supports any style.

Adjust the hooks to fit your world. Change the ruins into a sunken tower. Swap the duke for a witch-queen. Turn the beast into a friend, or the village into a lie. Fold in backstory and foreshadowing. Tie plot hooks together into chains, networks, or spirals. Make them personal. Make them sing.

This book helps you set the tempo. Your players will carry the tune.