Plot Hooks

1) A group of wealthy, bored, young nobles begin playing a game, pitting their inexperienced lovers in cruel social games of seduction and betrayal. More than a few young Musketeers become ensnared in their machinations, growing crueler, less reliable, and less vigorous with each passing week. Is something darker than base human greed and narcissism behind this change of character and health?

2) A famous noble duelist, infamous for his temper and respected for his skill, has announced that his birthday will be his retirement from such pursuits. He intends to present his prized, gem-encrusted dueling sword to a worthy successor, claiming, “It is the sword, not the man.” To this end, he has invited any and all to his birthday celebrations, where they will duel each other for the chance to earn his sword and his tutelage. So entranced by the chance are the swordsmen of Paris that few pause to question his motives...

3) Two nights ago a fire took the life of a noted fencing master, his family, and destroyed most of the building in which he offered lessons and lodging to his students. Last night a second school burned taking the lives of the master, his lover, two prized young pupils, and several neighbors who tried to battle the blaze. This afternoon, Monsieur de Tréville, issued a warning as he so often does, against dueling, citing a rash of unclaimed corpses behind churches and other secluded spots. Is there a connection? Is someone hunting the best swordsmen in Paris?

4) The musketeers are ordered to get hold of a messenger from Spain, who is suspected to carry papers for spies within the louvre. They do indeed find him, but he’s already dead, his corpse lying in his room, locked from the inside without a trace of his murderer save for a stiletto in his heart. They find the papers he transported hidden in his clothes. When they break the code, they learn who they should be handed to. In order to thwart the plot, one of them has to pose as the messenger and deliver the papers—but who, or what, killed the messenger, and will they also be after the hero?

5) A member of the Musketeers was horribly wounded last year, but has recovered admirably. Over the year he has become more cautious, trained harder, and seems torn by conflicting impulses of self-protection and the desire to prove himself the man he always believed he was. Few, if any, want to be assigned duty with the fellow for reasons of his mood and his bouts of foolish bravado. The characters are told in confidence by another Musketeer he has a curious addiction—always sipping at small vials, he wastes his whole salary on to procure from a dingy alchemist’s shop. It is as though his very life depends on the murky fluid within.

6) Salaries are late again for the King’s Musketeers with the potential for further delays ahead. Running low on funds and the largesse of those often entertained by their tales, many young members of the company seek to find solace and support in the arms of well-to-do patrons—a refuge also growing thin in this period of privation. Suddenly, the talk of the town is a new series of romances about a Musketeer and his many lovers...romances with too much truth to them and a protagonist whose description is too close for comfort. Every door is slamming shut for fear of scandal. Whose pen is poisoning a once sweet well?

7) A noble is found dead with a stake through his heart. The Musketeers are ordered to find his murderer. As they unearth some really nasty details about the deceased, another noble is found, a silver-tipped crossbow bolt embedded in his forehead. Paris’ nobility fears a radical killer, but the Musketeers have another lead, one that’s to do with a secret society of hunters—the Order of St. George.

8) The King’s latest mistress has been poisoned. Was the assassination attempt meant for the King? Paris swarms with rumors—was it the Queen’s Musketeers protecting Her Majesty’s position at court? Richelieu’s agents fearing the mistress’ influence over the King? Are Milady and the Daughters of Medea seeking revenge? Or is it merely a jealous husband? The Musketeers must unravel the threads of a conspiracy that threatens the court and may lead to bloodshed in the streets of Paris.

9) An illegitimate child of George Villier’s, Duke of Buckingham, seeks revenge for his father’s assassination. Turning to the Black Arts, he discovers that Richelieu was behind the murder. Knowing the Cardinal is too lofty a target, the wizard plans harm to Queen Anne and her unborn offspring. The wizard has seduced a member of Anne’s chamber (possibly one of her own Musketeers!) and will use her to get access to the Queen. The Musketeers must protect the Queen and the future king of France—possibly against the Queen’s own servants!

10) Children go missing in the streets of Paris—few notice because most are urchins or the children of the poor. When the children of the wealthy begin to vanish, the authorities take notice. The Musketeers are tasked with the investigation. Evidence leads to the Catacombs of Paris. Is the School of Night preparing for a great sacrifice and summoning, or is something even more sinister happening beneath the streets of the city?