Hook, Line and Sinker, continues to be one of the most popular columns to have appeared in SHADIS. Now that SHADIS is a multi-genre gaming magazine, we will be expanding the Hook, Line and Sinker concept to cover all genres. That means we need your submissions now, more than ever!! For those of you unfamiliar with the HLS format, the following is a reprint of the original introduction to the Hook, Line and Sinker Column: How many times has this happened to you? After spending all week preparing and designing a massive adventure for the next gaming session, you finally sit down at the table with players assembled. It feels like a good night, the adrenaline is pumping and everyone is anticipating a full night of adventuring. However, as the night progresses, you begin to panic. The adventure you thought would take hours to unfold is beginning to wind down and the evening is still young. You thought that battle with the Orc raiding party would take at least an hour to resolve but it actually only took 10 minutes of real time. The trap you cleverly laid on level 5 to slow the player's progress wasn't even encountered! It's only 8 p.m. and you normally play to midnight. The players look toward you with trusting anticipation as if to say, "We know you won't let us down." You scoff because you know how quickly they can turn on you. You begin to sweat as you thumb through your notes. Nothing! Usually you can think of an adventure on the cuff and ad-lib your way through. Tonight nothing comes to mind. What's a GM to do? It was a similar situation to the one described above that first inspired the Hook, Line and Sinker concept. (Eight years of being subjected to the Army's wacky methods of training had finally proved useful). With HLS you simply find a situation (Hook) that most closely resembles your player's current situation. (For example, if your characters just ended an adventure and are lounging in a bar waiting for something to happen you look for a Hook that reads something like, "The party is sitting in a Tavern/Inn). It's as easy as that. You will then be given the seeds for a new adventure. All you need to do is let the players run with it and flesh out the details as needed. The most appealing thing about HLS scenarios is that they are generic. No game stats or hard rules are included. Each HLS scenario has the following format: HOOK: The current situation/location of the party. LINE: This is the opportunity for adventure that presents itself to the party. A line is normally presented in a short paragraph. Think of a line as a 'pick-up' line that you use to bait the players with. SINKER: This is the clincher to the line. Here the Game Master is presented with the dilemma that makes the situation an adventure. Using the HLS scenario is easy. In fact, many GMs have reported that they have adopted the format to design all of their adventures. They are purposely vague so that the GM can fill in the detail with the particulars of his own world and tastes. Think about it, how many commercial modules have you purchased only to pick and choose elements that you preferred and ignoring those you didn't like? We invite you to send in your own HLS scenarios to add to our library. In the future we will compile these scenarios into collections and make them available. Hook, Line and Sinker, Part 1 Hook, Line and Sinker, Part 2 Back to Table of Contents -- SHADIS Issue No. 9 Back to SHADIS List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1993 by Alderac Group This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com