#plot hooks

because the gods put mortals in the untenable position of having to do their dirty work for them, either because of a cold-war-type pact of avoiding direct action against one another, or because they're too proud/think of mortals as disposable.

because the gods are merely ascended mortals who have amassed power that is rightfully dispersed throughout all peoples.

because the gods tried to kill you first.

because you lost something precious that can never be restored, and you hate the gods for not thinking it was important enough to intervene.

because the gods use children as their soldiers and oracles, and these children inevitably die horrible early deaths.

because you crave their power for yourself.

because the gods are parasites, sucking mortals dry of belief and faith and will to act.

because the gods were created by mortals, not the other way around, and the mortals who created the gods use them to enact a cruel cultural hegemony.

because you serve dark forces from the lower planes, and those dark forces aspire to overthrow the gods; you will be rewarded. You will.

because the people were in this universe before the gods arrived in it, and the gods are a colonial power you want to overthrow.

because the gods are the arbiters of good and of evil; you will cleanse the world of sin by destroying the judges.

The Prophecy (you know the one, everyone knows it, it's a bedtime story passed down the generations) is coming to pass; the Cataclysm is rising, and the Signs have illuminated the Chosen One.

Your party is assembled to accompany this Chosen One on their prophesied quest to save the world, where it is foretold they will stand between all life and the abyss, where you will be their honour guard, clearing their way and recording the tales of their exploits to come, new verses added to the great saga which has echoed through ages before their birth.

Problem is, one day out of town, barely out of earshot of civilisation, they slip down a river embankment and fucking drown. You're 110% sure that wasn't in the story but it is now.

As a DM, it can be helpful to ask your players some questions before you jump head first into your campaign. I like to put these questions into three categories: Logistics, Character, and Campaign

I'll include some example questions that you can ask your players before the campaign begins.

Campaign Questions can be very generalized. These questions can help you get an idea as to what aspects of gameplay that your players like the most, along with any hard boundaries that your players may have.

What is your favorite part about playing D&D?

What is your least favorite part about playing D&D?

Are there any topics you want to specifically avoid or explore?

What kind of tones or themes would you like to be present or absent in the campaign?

Are there any house rules you particularly like or dislike?

Game Logistics: The most integral part of a campaign. You'll probably definitely be asking some of these questions after each individual session.

How often do you want to meet and for how long?

List all available days and times.

How do you think tardiness and absences should be handled?

Do you want optional days (one-shots) or breaks built into the schedule? How?

How much time are you willing and/or able to spend on the campaign between sessions? (leveling, side conversations, discussions with DM, reviewing notes, giving feedback, etc.)

Character Questions often cover things like combat and backstory integration.

What kind of combat roles are you interested in? (tank, melee damage, ranged damage, control, support, healing, etc.)

What kind of non-combat roles are you interested in? (socializing, scouting, surviving, thieving, utility, crafting, investigating, etc.)

How much effort do you want to put into creating your backstory and involving it in the narrative? (written length, detail of NPCs and locations, adding plot hooks, etc.)

On the edge of the shattered islands is the Zaratan, an ancient crab spirit that walks around in the shallow waters around the islands. On its back is a small village of people who are led by a shaman, the only one allowed to make deals with the Zaratan, maintaining near complete control over the island. Could go with an old benevolent shaman with a potential evil successor to be exposed and replaced. Or could go with an outright evil shaman who abuses his power over the village people, to be overthrown by someone much kinder discussing things with the ultimately benevolent Zaratan.

Source idea:

Laser wolves is just straight up a great sci-fi name for an animal, made all the better by the fact they can actually shoot lasers at you. Tashtari may be beasts, but it's best not to underestimate them - they are smarter than some humanoids and communicate through a unique bioluminescent language. So yeah, one more thing on Castrovel that is smart and will kill you in unexpected ways. 

There's no immediate planar connection for tashtari canonically, but there's some easy ones to draw. Nirvana’s petitioners take the forms of animals and beasts. Tashtari are surely found on Elysium, especially in the Amaranthine Forest, since it is the realm of Ketephys. While the Hunter's favoured animal is a hawk, he is also associated with hunting dogs. That canine connection could very well be associated with tashtari on Castrovel instead. Finally, tashtaris are resistant to fire damage, so the Planes of Fire won't be a comfortable location for them, but they can weather its heat better than other mortal beasts. 

Wolves are popular symbols for a reason and I wouldn't expect tashtari to be any less widespread on Castrovel. Lean into that to lend recognizable but distinct flavour to the world with laser wolves as heraldic beasts. Don't forget to get weird either. Perhaps a lycanthrope variant on Castrovel turns its victims into tashtari during solar storms or auroras? Tashtari are smart and lashunta are psychic - can laser wolves develop occult powers to compliment their dazzling abilities? Do hound archons associated with Castrovel take on the appearances and abilities of laser wolves? Or do they just specialize in laser-based firearms? There's lots of fun to be had here and I'm sure you can come up with some wild ideas I haven't even considered yet. 

When elves isolated themselves after the Gap, some communities took this farther than others, cutting themselves off from everyone including other elves. These reclusive communities have become hotspots for strange new religious movements and corporate research experiments. The hamlet of Tashtari's Howl is one such location, where elves and aiuvarins revere tashtari spirits as their ancestors. While this practice is uncommon on Castrovel, it isn't unheard of, but the citizens of the Howl take it a step further by ritually exposing themselves to wolves' radiation. After centuries of isolation, many of the elves has begun displaying strange phospholuminescent mutations reminiscent of their totemic patrons. Strangely enough, the local tashtari have also changed. Some grow to abnormal size, while others burrow underground, metastasizing into glowing flesh pits that extrude towering capillaries to collect the sun's light.

The CBO of Akasna Tech believes he is being haunted by a gigantic ghostly tashtari. No one else has seen the beast, but he insists that it is real and vindictive. Akasana has had a number of setbacks lately, usually involving property torn to shred by tooth and claw. Is a rival undermining Aksana or is someone within the corporation making clever use of drones to open up space for their promotion? Or worse yet, is the undead beast real, hunting down Akasana executives for their role in Castrovel's ecological and cultural degradation? 

Location: Zhorath’s Crucible

In the 345th layer of the Abyss, where rivers of molten iron cut through blackened stone, Zhorath’s Crucible stands silent. This was the forge of a balor who crafted weapons capable of binding demon princes and defy the gods. For his defiance, he was bound to his own anvil, forced to toil without rest as the fire consumed him.

Now, the forge stirs again. The blackened hilt of Ashmourne, a sword that was never finished, has resurfaced near the ruins of Dekanter, and those who touch it hear whispers asking to finish what Zhorath could not.

This location includes a sidequest to destroy or complete Ashmourne before cultists reforge it and raise a cinderbound legion from the ashes.

Would your party finish the weapon, or cast it into the fire?

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I love it.

It's one of my favorite lore changes between D&D and Pathfinder. It makes bugbears feel less like "goblin, but giant". And Paizo has made it clear that some goblins mutate and just grow to Medium size, so you can have giant goblins if you want 'em.

@monstersdownthepath suggested that bugbears have a demonic taint to them. Despite their CE nature, I'd suggest sahkils instead. Bugbears are the Fear of Marauders, of Banditry, of Murder. Only they're mortal. But I bet a lot of their souls end up in Xilbaba when they die.

I imagine that small groups of bugbears are somewhere between bandit gangs and terrorist cells, roaming around and striking for maximum psychological impact as much as to get material goods. Larger communities would be like Halloweentown, only much less friendly. With running competitions for "most blood drained in a single evening". And adopting more terrible monsters into their numbers as Honorary Bugbears. Life's no fun without a good scare! If the Thing Hiding Under Your Stairs and The Shadow on the Moon At Night really wanted to kill you, and then looted your supplies and took over your village until the well runs dry or next year's crop doesn't plant itself. That's a bugbear clan.

I also love the implication in Ironfang Invasion, through characters like Scarvinious and Scabvistin (great naming convention too, IMO), that some, but not all, bugbears are envious of hobgoblins. They like the idea of civilization, of order and rigidity. And so they enlist. And because of their strength and power, they can succeed. If they "beat the bear" out, in Scabvistin's words.

So if you want to give bugbears another hook, here's my alternate, but not necessarily incompatible take. They're brood parasites. Because what's scarier than a baby that's not yours taking over your life?

We know that in Pathfinder canon, goblins and hobgoblins are both communal breeders (thanks to nursery locations in both Rise of the Runelords and Jade Regent). A mother bugbear sneaks into a goblin creche and leaves her baby behind, after killing one of the young and either eating it themselves or feeding it to Junior. The somewhat addlepated and mutation-prone goblins won't notice or mind a slightly hairier infant, right? And then the bugbear baby takes more than its fair share of resources, maybe knocks off a few of the other kids, and then either leaves the goblin colony at a young age in order to find more bugbears, or stays and muscles his way into a leadership position.

Doing the same to a hobgoblin community is riskier. The hobgoblins are much more in tune and observant. But in this case, it becomes more of a mutualistic relationship that could tip into parasitism on either end. Maybe the bugbear can get along in the hobgoblin village by learning discipline, or be content with the role of scavenger or brute. Or the bugbear could try to take over, if the hobgoblins are weak. And if the bugbear doesn't have the resources to survive and thrive, the hobgoblins send them off on a suicide mission.