The thing about campaign hooks is that they need to simultaneously apply to five characters you've never seen before. I'm not going to personally tailor a hook to every single person, on top of all the prep of starting a campaign, getting everyone in one spot, and nobody ever figuring out their character until ten minutes before the adventure anyway.
I try to open with at least an opportunity to get rich saving people from something. If a character isn't at least one of greedy or heroic, I don't know why they're a D&D character.
My favourite way to do a hook is to give a quick description, like the opening bit of a Buffy episode or whatever, then switch to the characters. I'll get them to tell me what they're doing and why they're there. It's the default start up for tales from the loop, and I find it works great in 5e.
Most players will be nervous at first, but it really gets them in the RP mood. You'll find by the end they'll almost make a reason for their characters to be nearby / in the same space by just riffing off of one another. This sets you up for an easy and dramatic event to kick the adventure off.
The thing about campaign hooks is that they need to simultaneously apply to five characters you've never seen before. I'm not going to personally tailor a hook to every single person, on top of all the prep of starting a campaign, getting everyone in one spot, and nobody ever figuring out their character until ten minutes before the adventure anyway.
I try to open with at least an opportunity to get rich saving people from something. If a character isn't at least one of greedy or heroic, I don't know why they're a D&D character.
My favourite way to do a hook is to give a quick description, like the opening bit of a Buffy episode or whatever, then switch to the characters. I'll get them to tell me what they're doing and why they're there. It's the default start up for tales from the loop, and I find it works great in 5e. Most players will be nervous at first, but it really gets them in the RP mood. You'll find by the end they'll almost make a reason for their characters to be nearby / in the same space by just riffing off of one another. This sets you up for an easy and dramatic event to kick the adventure off.