1d20 D&D Adventure Hooks from Movies

Few movies work as well as models for D&D games than we think. This is usually for one big reason: the movie's story depends on how the characters act and we can't count on that in D&D. Instead, the movies that work well as models for D&D games are ones built upon a situation in which the characters choose their course. I recently wrote a list of movies with situations I felt work well as the hook for a D&D adventure. Here's the list:

Raiders of the Lost Ark. Find the thing before an evil larger force finds it first.
Seven Samurai / Magnificent Seven. Defend a town from an overwhelming force.
Jaws. Hunt down a powerful beast.
The Hobbit. Rout a villain and restore a location to its rightful owner.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. You and two other groups seek the same treasure.
Yojimbo. Defend a town from two different competing factions.
Oceans 11 / Inception. Break into a vault and steal something.
Apocalypse Now. Hunt down a former hero who became a cult fanatic.
Aliens. Find out what happened to a location that stopped responding.
The Thing. Uncover enemies among us.
Mad Max Fury Road. Rescue people from tyrannical villains.
Kill Bill. Hunt down a squad of master assassins.
Escape From New York. Rescue someone from a prison ruled by the inmates.
The Princess Bride. Save someone from a fixed marraige and bring them to their true love.
Saving Private Ryan. Recover a soldier behind enemy lines during a war.
Jurassic Park. Escape a park of monsters gone wild.
Star Wars / Rogue One. Acquire secret information and get it into the right hands.
Children of Men / Willow. Save a child from a world trying to destroy it.
Die Hard / Dredd. Escape from a building overtaken by villains.
The Warriors. Villains and heroes alike hunt you for a crime you didn't commit.

Inspiration

Twitter discussion of best D&D movies
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This article is copyright 2020 by Mike Shea of Sly Flourish.